NCIS New Orleans (2014) s03e01 Episode Script
Aftershocks
1 (excited chatter, music playing) WOMAN: Ladies and gentlemen, Ms.
Bella Pearl! (cheering) (gunshot) (gunshot) (screaming, panicked shouts) (gunshot) (gunshot) NCIS:New Orleans 3x01 Aftershocks Boom, boom, boom, boom Bang, bang, bang, bang Boom, boom, boom, boom How, how, how, how Hey, hey @elderman You gotta come on.
(sirens wailing in distance) Looks like we picked up right where we left off, huh, King? Uh, didn't even get back before I got the call.
You enjoy yourself, touring with Walter "Wolfman" Washington's band, tickling the ivories? Had a lot of fun.
Didn't last long enough though.
How about you? Did you get a chance to unpack? Barely.
But it was good to get home for a couple of weeks, catch up with some old friends.
Any lady friends? Oh, gentlemen never kiss and tell.
You know that.
How many wounded? Three.
One critical.
Gilbert Lee.
Owns that new bistro in Marigny.
I know him.
He's engaged to my friend Bella Pearl.
Take it the lone fatality's ours? Looks that way.
PRIDE: Loretta? Master Chief Dylan Maron, 40, just in on shore leave.
At least we survived our vacations.
Loretta, I never doubted you for a second.
Sure you did.
Said you couldn't picture me backpacking, remember? Of course, you were right.
Talked Annie into renting a hotel halfway through.
Ate Oreo cookies, watched movies.
Had a grand old time.
That's what it's all about.
Theories? Well, it's too soon to tell.
There's a lot of other victims.
Although they were only wounded.
WADE: Still, based on the specific location of the shot, just right of the scapula and just below the T-4 vertebrae, our master chief was unlucky, or our sniper knew exactly what he was aiming for.
Well, if he was targeted, then why shoot the others? Don't know.
And we don't know why he killed an investment banker last week outside the ferry terminal.
What do you mean? .
308.
High-powered and long-distance.
Connecting both cases, according to NOPD.
Which means we're probably looking for the same sniper or snipers.
Question is: what's he after? Or are we just dealing with some random crazy? Wouldn't be the first time a sniper terrorized NOLA.
40 years ago.
I remember it all too well.
I never seen my mama that scared before.
Put the whole city on edge for over a week.
Yeah, then we need to stop this joker fast.
Find anything and everything you can on these victims.
Especially connections to that banker.
Want me to call Percy and Brody? Already did.
Left word for Brody.
Sonja's on her way back.
She'll meet you at the squad room.
Copy that.
First a cartel tries to blow up the bridge, and D.
C.
puts us under review.
Now snipers taking potshots at folks.
What's happening to our city, Loretta? Something you're gonna stop.
(phone ringing) Sebastian.
SEBASTIAN: Hey, I'm over here.
Up on the roof.
Yeah, uh, I think I found something.
Actually, I found nothing-- but that could mean something.
Welcome back.
All right, so I triangulated from where the Whoa-ho.
Hey.
You all right? Yeah, yeah.
I'm fine, I'm fine.
You sure? Yeah.
I just long as I don't look down.
I'm not really, uh, crazy about heights.
It's not that I'm acrophobic, per Se, it's just more of a generalized anxiety.
It's probably agoraphobic, actually, now that I think about it, but I never got that diagnosed.
Which means I should call somebody and try to get - Sebastian.
- Sorry.
Uh, okay.
So, I, uh, I triangulated from where the victims were shot, I compared it to the crack of the rounds heard by some of the witnesses, and then factored in sound delay to estimate range, and voila.
You're standing in the sniper's nest.
Stage is almost a half-mile away.
You're sure? Yeah, I'm pretty positive.
Except for the fact that I didn't find any trace evidence, which, you know, is kind of weird.
Well, how can somebody pull all this off without leaving any evidence? Well, that's, uh, that's what's weird.
I mean, there's no spent casings, gunshot residue, hair follicles, shoeprints.
I mean, there's there's nothing.
That's why I-I think it's something.
Sniper's a professional.
Exactly.
Whoever he or she or they were, they knew exactly where to shoot from, how to escape without being detected and how to cover their tracks.
I mean, it reads targeted.
Gonna need your assist on this, Sebastian, till the whole team gets back.
Get Patton to pull surveillance footage, then help him scan for suspects in the immediate area.
And see what you can find on those bullets.
All right, will do.
Okay.
Oh, and by the way, you haven't, uh you haven't heard from Merri-- I mean, uh, Brody, have you? Just 'cause, you know, I put a few calls in to her myself, but she probably forgot to get on the Caribbean calling plan, or something.
Yeah, well, I haven't made contact with her yet.
But I left word.
Know she took the Russo betrayal hard.
Feels bad about the D.
C.
blowback on us.
Maybe she just needs more time.
Right now, case is all that matters.
Get on that surveillance footage, will ya? I'm on it.
Hold the door? Hold the Okay.
(siren whooping in distance) (monitor beeping steadily, air pumping) Bella.
(sobs): It's bad.
(quietly): I know.
I know.
They're getting him ready for surgery.
They said it's life-threatening.
(sniffles) What if I lose him? Don't talk like that.
Doesn't do any good.
You can do this.
I know it, Bella.
I've seen myself what you've overcome.
I just don't understand who would do such a thing.
The whole town's scared half to death.
That's why I'm here.
I'm hoping you can help me.
Can you tell me what you saw? It all happened so fast.
I was only on stage for a few seconds, and all hell broke loose.
Do you know who got shot first? Eyewitnesses are critical in situations like this, and you were front and center.
I think one or two men on the steps, then a woman and Gilbert.
What about the sailor? Was he by the stage, too? First I saw, he was running towards Gilbert.
To help him, I think.
Then (shuddering breath) It's okay.
Come on.
You're doing fine.
(sniffling) So did it look like that Gilbert was just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Random? Wait.
You're saying the shooter was aiming for him? It's not just some crackpot? Nah, I'm just trying (cell phone ringing) to sort it all out.
It's still early.
Oh.
Can you excuse me? I-I have to take this call.
I'll be right back.
Okay? Sorry.
Trying to get ahold of you, Brody.
Where the hell you been? You okay? (jazz playing over radio) Oh, hey, Roy.
How's the arm? Got my wound pin-- nice scar, too.
My hero.
(chuckles) LASALLE: There she is.
I was starting to wonder if you were gonna come back at all.
Oh, yeah, I thought about it.
Then I realized y'all would be lost without me.
Appreciate the sacrifice.
(chuckles) Hell, this place looks good as new.
Seems Lieutenant Buckley can do more than just tend bar.
He's a jack of all trades.
How was the Civil War tour? Interesting.
Uh, spoiler alert: the South lost.
Yeah, I heard.
So what is going on? It took me no time to get here from the airport.
I've never seen the city like this.
Yeah, folks are spooked.
Not sure when the sniper's gonna strike next.
Two separate attacks.
Two are dead, four wounded and one critical.
Any connection between the vics? Not so far.
Couldn't be a more unrelated bunch.
So what are we looking at? Our own Beltway sniper? A random crazy? Well, I don't think so.
He's a expert marksmen, covers his tracks like a pro.
Plus, Miss Loretta called and said the two murder vics were shot straight through the heart.
From a half mile away, too.
Whoa.
Hey, um did Pride hear anything from D.
C.
about whether or not we're being reviewed? No news is good news.
Not necessarily.
Not after you've been infiltrated by a DHS mole.
Speaking of Russo, where is Brody? Don't know.
Pride says she's coming back soon.
I wouldn't count on it.
Just spoke to Merri.
She's not coming back.
I don't understand.
What do you mean, Brody's not coming back? Yeah, did she say for how long? She all right? Said she's sad about leaving us, but not the job.
Seemed pretty clear about her decision.
But, no, that doesn't make sense.
Believe me, I tried to talk her out of it.
Told her that if this had anything to do with being taken advantage of by Russo That's not her fault! None of us knew Russo was a terrorist.
I told her that, too.
And I also said not coming back could make her and us look complicit to D.
C.
There's got to be more to it than that.
I mean, Russo can't just be the only reason she quit.
Claims it's not.
According to her, she's been thinking about this for a long time now.
PATTON: Well, lookee who's back from Chickamauga.
I'm a big Civil War buff myself.
Well, actually, I'm convinced I fought at the Battle of Fort Wagner in my prior life.
Okay, I admit it was a stretch.
PRIDE: Just filled everybody in, Patton.
Brody quit.
Wait, what? Did you tell her about the sniper? Did you tell her how much we need her right now? PRIDE: No, we've always got something going on.
I didn't see any reason to make her feel bad about her decision.
Oh, but it's okay for her to leave us high and dry? Percy.
No, what-what what happened to "we're a team"? This is our family.
She can't just abandon us! Does Sebastian know? Oh, he's gonna be crushed.
(sighs) We've all been caught off guard.
But right now, we got a job to do.
We owe it to the city to put our focus on that.
Gonna have to double up on duties, till I can get some help.
In the meantime, what do we know? Well, not much, unfortunately, other than everyone was shot from long range.
But no other clear links, and no clear motive to want to kill either the banker or our master chief.
Ditto on the cell phone cams and the surveillance footage.
Other than the fact that the sniper disabled selective cameras all around the Moonwalk.
Yeah, which means he, or they, knew exactly how not to be seen.
PATTON: I've been through all the footage I got, but nothing.
The man is a ghost.
Well, I don't believe in ghosts.
Had to disable those cameras at some point.
(phone beeping) Go back days.
Weeks if you have to.
Problem? When the mayor calls? Usually.
See what NOPD has on the first attack and the banker.
If this isn't random, there's got to be a connection.
HAMILTON: Whole damn city's in a panic, Dwayne.
Phone's ringing off the hook.
Governor, senator, media-- they all want to know what the hell we're doing.
You're on this, right? A master chief was one of the victims.
All right, I want you taking lead.
I want you overseeing everything, do you understand? Sorry, what about NOPD, FBI? The NOPD is good, but they're not you.
FBI-- they think they're God.
They don't share jack with us.
Plus, I don't much like them snooping around me anyway.
You mean, the city or you? I think you know what I mean.
Just fix this.
For everybody's sake.
We might be dealing with a pro here.
Victims could be targeted.
Well, it'll make it easier for you to figure out who's doing this.
Be easier if you'd authorize a bigger police presence, ask LSP to put up helos, checkpoints.
Well, I'll do what I can.
Meanwhile, we can't have folks thinking that we're afraid, too.
We need to protect our people.
No, we need to protect our image.
Next to Mardi Gras and Halloween, Fall Fest is the biggest week of the year for us.
I mean, we can't have folks hiding inside their houses.
Got to get out.
We need them outside.
I'm counting on you, Dwayne.
WADE: He can't put this all on you; it's not fair.
Hamilton should be doing everything possible to keep those bodies from ending up on my tables.
Well, I think we both know that smart and fair aren't usually as important to the mayor as covering his backside.
(chuckles) Maybe you should be mayor.
Ha! Think I got enough on my plate.
Thank you very much, Loretta.
Bet your music tour feels like weeks ago, not just yesterday.
So much for finding balance in your life.
Ongoing challenge, to be sure.
Not something I'm giving up on.
Just not a priority at the moment.
Is it ever? I was able to get the victim from the first sniper attack transferred from Orleans M.
E.
The investment banker? And that's when I realized both he and the master chief were shot through the heart.
Perfectly placed, too.
Kill shots.
One lucky shot I could buy, but two? Can't be a coincidence.
Yeah, it means your shooter or shooters are cocky, too.
I mean, they didn't even bother to use the classic Mozambique Drill.
A variation of which was used on JFK.
Do not get me started on that.
On the same page there.
Point is, to try to shoot somebody from half a mile away with a single shot to the heart-- that's more than good.
That's, like, American Sniper good.
Now, whoever you're looking for, they obviously like a challenge.
Still, if he's so good, why miss the other victims? Just injured them.
Maybe he doesn't miss.
Maybe the sniper or snipers just want to make the attacks look random to cover their real targets.
Keep us from figuring out who's behind this and why.
Well, on the who of it all, I might have a lead.
So, Lasalle sent me the NOPD files on the first attack.
And after I compared them to the Burlesque Fest M.
O.
, I was able to triangulate the sniper's nest to Crescent City Connection.
Just like the Moonwalk, it's about a half a mile away.
PRIDE: If so, got to be something on bridge surveillance cameras.
Can't disable them all.
That's good work, Sebastian.
Can you get this to Patton? See what he can find ASAP? ASAP it is.
(door opens) (sighs) (door closes) Take it from a coroner, carrying the weight of the world's not good for longevity.
I know.
But it's more than just all this, Loretta.
Merri.
You know? I'm her landlord.
Or was.
She was afraid to talk to you.
Afraid you'd be disappointed in her.
I'm not disappointed in her.
I'm disappointed in myself.
I should've paid more attention.
I should've seen this coming.
So what, now you want to take on her problems, too? No, it's not that.
It's just that maybe I could've done something.
Maybe I could've talked her out of it.
If I'd, if I'd Dwayne.
What she did and why she did it had nothing to do with you.
Or any of us.
It had everything to do with her.
Brody was my first stab at expanding the team.
Beyond Christopher and myself.
Can't help but feel some responsibility.
Like Sonja says, we're a family.
Brody left because she needed to.
It's that simple.
Wait, Merri left? Just-just like that? She-she's not coming back? What do you got, Patton? Nothing on the bridge.
They disabled the cameras there, too.
But I think I spotted the suspect's van on Tchoupitoulas exit, three minutes after the first attack.
Okay, good.
You got enough to track where he is now? No, not yet.
Well, what'd you call us in here for? Because in looking for it, (beeping) I noticed three now four surveillance cameras going down in and around Champions Square.
When? Right now! King, I think we got a bead on our sniper.
(lively jazz music playing) Where are you, Christopher? Office building on Poydras.
The last surveillance camera that went off was on the rooftop.
Which is 20 floors up.
MAN: Give it up for Big Sam on the trombone, y'all! ETA on the state chopper is five minutes.
MAN: That's right, y'all.
We got it, baby! (gunshot, man grunts) Ow, my leg! Federal agents! Get down! Everybody, get down! Get out of here! Get out! (gunshot, woman screams) PRIDE: Down, down! Get out! Get out of here! Get out! Go! Get out of the way! Get out! Get out of here! Everybody, get out! (gunshot) Sniper! On the balcony! I see him! (people shouting) Federal agents! Drop your weapon! Do it now! WOMAN: He's getting away! Stop, or I'll shoot! Get your hands up! Drop your weapon.
Whoa, whoa, don't shoot.
I'm putting the gun down.
Turn around slowly.
FBI? Friendly little town you got here.
And now one that still has a sniper on the loose, thanks to you.
(sirens wailing, emergency horn blares) LASALLE: You still haven't told us how you knew the sniper would be there.
SAC says it's on a need-to-know basis.
We're federal agents and we need to know.
Not my call.
You couldn't have used ShotSpotter.
That doesn't work until after shots are fired.
FBI uses other tools.
Like Geo-profiling software? That's right, you used to be ATF.
Hey, hold up.
How did you know that? We just met.
I do my homework.
I like to know who the good guys are when I come into town, so I don't get into any more friendly fire incidents.
Kidding.
Relax.
Yeah, well, you're lucky we didn't shoot you.
And it wouldn't have been a problem if the FBI would've deigned to share Intel with us.
So, you're not NOLA? Spent some time down here a few years go, then bolted.
I'm not much of a foodie or big on humidity.
Still, since they know I have history, D.
C.
sent me down here to assist.
Whoa, did you say D.
C.
? That's right.
They want this solved yesterday, and because of that, we don't have time to catch everybody up.
No offense.
Too late.
You Agent Pride? Special Agent Tammy Gregorio.
NOLA FBI says a lot of good things about you.
It's really nice to meet you.
Be nicer if we had a little interagency cooperation.
I don't like how this went down.
As I explained to your May I finish? I already talked to NOLA FBI.
I don't have time or patience for jurisdictional battles.
Neither does the city.
Understand? Yes, sir.
Did you get a look at the sniper? Tried to, and then I got interrupted.
We'll check surveillance, cell cameras, too.
See if anyone saw him rappeling down the building.
Make sure the rope and the bag get processed, sent to Sebastian, along with the bullets.
Sniper can't have done all this without leaving something behind.
Yeah.
You got it.
Do a deep dive into the latest victim.
There got to be a pattern with the other vics; find it.
Copy that.
Look, Agent Pride, I apologize if we got off on the wrong foot.
I'm from New York.
It happens.
Not anymore.
From this point on, we work together.
I want to know everything you know about this case.
The only thing that matters to me is stopping the sniper before anybody else gets hurt, capisce? REPORTER: Mr.
Mayor! Do you know who the sniper is? Is there more than one? Mr.
Mayor, what are you doing to protect the city? Should people stay inside? Will you have to cancel Fall Fest? No, no, no, no, no.
Just no.
No-Nobody's canceling anything, okay? FBI, ATF, NOPD-- we've got a coordinated law enforcement effort blanketing the city.
As a matter of fact, we almost caught the bastard today.
And I'm confident we are on his heels.
NCIS has assured me of that.
Oh, great, put all the pressure on us, why don't you.
Yeah, he's just a big ol' blowhard.
Yeah, well all I know is we got squat.
Still nothing to connect the victims.
Nothing on surveillance.
The city's in a panic.
Brody's gone.
Now we got this snotty FBI chick to deal with? - Hey, come on - Don't! Don't.
Are we ever gonna talk about it, Percy, or we just gonna pretend like nothing ever happened? There's nothing to talk about.
It was just a stupid hug.
A stupid hug, huh? Am I interrupting something? Yes.
No.
Okay.
Did you find the van? PATTON: No.
That's a ghost, too.
But I think I may have found something to connect at least two of our murder victims.
First one, the banker, shot at the casino.
Now, this guy was seriously in debt up till about six months ago.
Then all of a sudden, he was flush with cash.
Taking his lady friends to five-star resorts, buying bling, living large.
Same as our latest victim, shot at Champions Square.
Unless a postal worker is making way more scratch than I'm aware of, this guy was living the high life, too.
Payoffs? (scoffs) Too big of a coincidence not to be.
The only problem is our master chief.
He doesn't fit the pattern.
This guy never spent a dime over his pay grade.
(sighs) Which means we still got squat.
Another kill shot? Severed aorta.
Whoever your sniper is, he's pretty consistent, I'll give him that.
Single kill shot's his signature.
Helps him withdraw before being detected by I.
R.
or acoustics.
Means he could be ex-SWAT, maybe military, especially considering the specificity of his aim.
This is Special Agent Gregorio, FBI.
D.
C.
sent her down to lend us a hand.
D.
C.
? Dr.
Loretta Wade.
Nice to meet you.
Likewise.
I take it you're an expert on snipers.
Trained sharpshooter myself-- one of only a few female agents.
My divisional specialty is actually counterterrorism and behavioral profiling, but obviously sniper activity is a sub-specialty.
Obviously.
You said his signature is a single kill shot, but our sniper injures others, too.
His first shot is to cover his motive, make us think it's random.
Then, after the kill shot, he's gone.
And public hysteria only helps his cover.
Media, too, which is why he never uses a silencer.
The more people panic, the less they witness.
Go into survival mode.
He knows exactly what he's doing.
That's why he's so difficult to detect.
May I? I've incorporated several factors in my preliminary profile to try and optimize search strategy.
Preferred location, desire for anonymity, supersonic signature of rounds.
Uh, who-who's she? GREGORIO: And assuming he's the best of the best, loves a challenge, I was able to narrow down my suspect list as well as potential hunting areas.
Fortunately, I was already near the first one when he struck.
Wait.
So, you were in town before the first attack? Which means D.
C.
didn't send you because of all this.
You didn't come down here to investigate the sniper.
You came down here to investigate us.
CHARLENE: I need that report on my desk ASAP.
Charlene, why didn't you tell me D.
C.
was down here already? Dwayne, listen, I When I called before about us working together, why didn't you say something? Listen, Dwayne, I wanted to tell you, believe me, but I'm in an awkward position.
Awkward, how? Damn it, Charlene, we go way back, and I think I deserve the courtesy of I It wasn't her call.
It was mine.
Who the hell are you? I'm Executive Assistant Director Raymond Isler.
I'm with the FBI's National Security Branch in D.
C.
Shall we chat? How long you been down here? ISLER: The DOJ sent us down two weeks ago, right after your team was placed on administrative leave.
Why wasn't I told? Oh, we weren't keeping it from you, but you were on vacation.
Forget how to use a cell? A DHS mole infiltrated your team, Agent Pride, used one of your own agents to nearly pull off a disastrous terror attack that would've blocked the Mississippi River.
An attack my team stopped.
Barely.
By the way, w-where is Agent Brody? We haven't been able to contact her yet.
Still on vacation.
Look, nobody's accusing you or your people of being complicit.
But because Brody was compromised and because your NCIS team is responsible for overseeing one of the most vulnerable entry points into the U.
S.
, you have to admit that investigating potential additional involvement is warranted.
Warranted, maybe.
But this isn't how we do things down here.
This isn't D.
C.
NOLA's a small town.
Everybody knows somebody.
It's best to be square up top.
I'll keep that in mind.
I'm sorry.
ISLER: It's okay, Gregorio.
I was just filling Agent Pride in.
Turns out the DHS mole wasn't operating alone.
Intel discovered that he and the Ciudad Natal cartel had embedded accomplices in the area-- inside help.
We need to identify who they are, in case they're planning another attack.
Understood.
But "they" aren't any of us, so you're wasting your time.
Worse, what you should be focusing on is the sniper.
Town's on edge, Agent Isler.
That should be our only priority.
Agreed.
(Lasalle whoops) Smells good in here.
What do you got? Grits and grillades, just like how my mama taught me.
And this is vegan, I trust? Can't very well leave you out now, can I? Thank you.
I'll bet the D.
C.
agents wouldn't even know what to do with it.
Yeah.
Probably a bunch of wheatgrass and flaxseed types.
Thank you.
Just like you.
Hey, don't lump me in with them.
(chuckles) Here you go.
We got anything to worry about, King? We done nothing wrong.
Just the process.
Well, the process sucks.
You know we stopped the terrorist attack.
Right now our only concern's the sniper.
Yeah, thought we had a connection between the vics, but master chief messed that all up.
That's why I've been thinking, maybe he wasn't the intended target.
It was a kill shot, just like the other two.
Yeah, but through the back, unlike the other two.
Moving to assist the restaurant owner.
What do we know about Bella's fiancé, Gilbert Lee? I don't think Patton checked him out.
So, you think the sniper was aiming at Gilbert, but the master chief just got in the way? Bullet went right through him, into Gilbert, nearly killed them both.
Expert marksman, high-powered rifle, somehow misses Gilbert on the first shot, doesn't have a choice on the second.
I think you might be onto something, King.
Looks like Gilbert was living way above his means, too.
Look, he bought a beachfront condo-- cash.
If we eliminate the master chief from the equation, we got a clear pattern.
Each of the intended targets were getting payoffs from somebody.
Somebody who wants to cover their tracks by silencing them permanently.
Still, it's a stretch to think the sniper intentionally aimed at the master chief to get to the restaurant owner.
May not have had a choice.
Master chief was probably about to take him to safety.
Plus, you said our sniper loves a challenge.
Narrow down your suspect list any? Maybe.
Let's see.
Three hit men with similar signature M.
O.
s, but only one could possibly be that good, or that cocky.
Alexander Costas, originally trained to fight trafficking in Colombia, felt betrayed by the CIA and turned on U.
S.
assets.
Could be he's working for one of the cartels now? And trying to get out embedded assets if it's Ciudad Natal.
I'll get a BOLO out.
Wait, wait, wait.
You saying the victims were helping Russo try and blow up the port? Well, we know he had NOLA support, and the victims were getting payoffs from somebody.
Plus, Costas is Colombian.
Makes sense.
It's all connected.
Well, if you're right, then why hasn't Costas tried to kill the restaurant owner again? Isn't he concerned that Gilbert's gonna talk? Yes, but I know that Gilbert's been in surgery.
When's he out? (monitor beeping steadily) You sure he's all right to travel? Yeah.
He's stable now, and they'll be monitoring him the entire flight.
They're prepping Gilbert to fly now.
Any sign of Costas? No, but if he knows they're moving Gilbert, he'll know where to take his next shot.
Which means we can't let Gilbert leave the hospital.
We don't have a choice.
He'll die if he doesn't get the transplant.
Yeah, but if you're right about Costas, he'll die before he gets to the airport.
Gregorio.
Exactly how good of a shot are you? I checked the paramedic's airport route, which means Costas could've checked it, too.
If I'm right, he'll take his shot the moment the ambulance reaches Canal Street.
Because it's crowded.
Especially on a Sunday.
Not bad for someone who supposedly doesn't know NOLA.
Still a risky plan, King.
Especially for you and me.
Gregorio says she's a sharpshooter.
That won't matter if we don't spot Costas before he takes the kill shot.
Why don't you do your job and I'll do mine.
Yo, you're pretty cocky, aren't you? Yeah, I am.
Besides, I can't keep investigating you if I let you get killed, right? Fair enough.
Let's do this.
Hey.
Don't worry.
I got your back, Country Mouse.
You'd better.
"Country Mouse"? What's that, like, a thing? Actually, lady, it's none of your business.
And don't miss.
I ain't losing anybody else.
Hope the sniper shoots the right dummy.
You and me both.
Yo, that's a pretty big area.
You sure you can narrow it down? Broad daylight, 15 floors minimum? He won't use a rooftop nest because he never repeats an escape route.
Yeah, but it's still a lot of windows and balconies.
Use the hotel and the casino as your boundaries.
It's his best sight line down to Canal Street.
Go ahead, Pride.
(siren wailing) PRIDE: Coming up on Canal.
Any sign of him? Not yet.
Keep driving.
As soon as we spot the sniper, you'll make your move.
That's easy for you to say.
Just stay away from the body, Chris.
That's what he'll be aiming for.
Well, don't forget he likes to injure other people, too.
(siren continues wailing) Running out of time here.
Where the hell is he? Remember, don't crank your wheel until I tell you.
I'll need a second to line up my shot.
PRIDE: Copy that.
(exhales) Uh, I don't like this.
There.
4:15, side A, window five.
Pride, now.
Hold on.
(tires screeching) (people clamoring) You got him.
Pretty sure it was right through the heart, too.
Karma's a bitch.
(chuckles) Copy that.
Sniper's down.
All clear.
(sirens approaching) Copy that.
Good job.
Code 4.
(sirens approaching, tires screech) She's good.
I'll give her that.
Yeah.
But the problem is, now we're back in her crosshairs.
(lively jazz music playing) Now, didn't I promise y'all we'd catch the bastard? Huh? Didn't I tell you we'd do it? NOLA proud! Who dat?! Hey! How you doing, my man? Now let's get this party started.
Yeah! Unbelievable.
(TV clicks off) Who actually voted for that guy, anyway? Eh, folks who like to party.
Which, for better or worse, is more than half of New Orleans.
Well, I don't trust the guy.
Never will.
Got to take the good with the bad with Hamilton.
Oh, and what's the good again? Good is, we got the bad guy before he hurt anybody else.
Dangerous man.
Could've been a lot worse.
Yeah, could be worse for us, still.
Now that we know he was hired to eliminate cartel embeds, D.
C.
's gonna be sticking around a while longer.
Just until the FBI roots out the last of them.
Or roots us out.
Like I said, we've done nothing wrong.
Still, that doesn't always matter to DOJ.
Look, another unit got reviewed once when I was with ATF.
It didn't matter they didn't do anything wrong.
They wanted a scapegoat, they got one.
Not gonna let that happen to us.
Promise? Count on it.
What are we gonna do with her stuff? We leave it alone.
It's hers.
Sorry.
Gonna take some time to get over.
Not gonna happen overnight.
Not something we were expecting, not something we've even had time to process.
I still can't believe Merri's not coming back.
I know.
But it is what it is.
And we have to stick together, more so now than ever.
Still a family, Sonja, just a little smaller is all.
Okay, so (sighs) Let's go.
We got a burlesque competition to go to.
Wait.
What was that? - Uh I offered up the bar.
Uh, they roped me into it.
Don't give me any guff.
Oh, I'm not making any promises.
(chuckles) Show must go on.
Oh! BOTH: After you.
(sultry jazz music playing, lively chatter) Why didn't Merri call? She should've called.
Come on, Sebastian.
Man up.
It's not like you got dumped or something.
I sure as heck did get dumped, man.
Doesn't matter that we didn't actually date.
You, uh, want me to call him a cab? More like a shrink.
SEBASTIAN: Should've asked her out is what I should've done.
She would've stayed if I had asked her out.
Mm-hmm.
Night, night.
SONJA: (sighs) Poor guy.
He's gonna feel even worse in the morning.
(chuckles) Yow-uh! Yeah.
(laughing) Loretta.
Hmm? Don't tell me you're here for the burlesque, too.
Oh, what? Can't a woman enjoy the fine art of satirical theater? (laughs): Okay.
Is that what it is? I appreciate art in any form.
Well, I'll drink to that.
Tap, boss? Thanks, Buckley.
And by the way you did a nice job cleaning up the squad room.
Oh.
Least I can do.
Appreciate it.
(Wade sighs) How is everybody holding up? Talking about Brody? Too early to tell.
How are you holding up? Uh, well.
Trying to take the advice of a wise woman.
Working on letting myself off the hook.
Oh! Seems like a very wise woman.
Come on, Dwayne, we're short a judge.
Oh, no, yeah.
Uh, that's okay.
No, I'm just here to Oh, come on.
You don't want to let NOLA down, do you? Let's go.
Oh, God.
Okay.
(laughs) (sultry jazz music playing, crowd cheering) (wolf whistles) Ah! (laughs) @elderman
Bella Pearl! (cheering) (gunshot) (gunshot) (screaming, panicked shouts) (gunshot) (gunshot) NCIS:New Orleans 3x01 Aftershocks Boom, boom, boom, boom Bang, bang, bang, bang Boom, boom, boom, boom How, how, how, how Hey, hey @elderman You gotta come on.
(sirens wailing in distance) Looks like we picked up right where we left off, huh, King? Uh, didn't even get back before I got the call.
You enjoy yourself, touring with Walter "Wolfman" Washington's band, tickling the ivories? Had a lot of fun.
Didn't last long enough though.
How about you? Did you get a chance to unpack? Barely.
But it was good to get home for a couple of weeks, catch up with some old friends.
Any lady friends? Oh, gentlemen never kiss and tell.
You know that.
How many wounded? Three.
One critical.
Gilbert Lee.
Owns that new bistro in Marigny.
I know him.
He's engaged to my friend Bella Pearl.
Take it the lone fatality's ours? Looks that way.
PRIDE: Loretta? Master Chief Dylan Maron, 40, just in on shore leave.
At least we survived our vacations.
Loretta, I never doubted you for a second.
Sure you did.
Said you couldn't picture me backpacking, remember? Of course, you were right.
Talked Annie into renting a hotel halfway through.
Ate Oreo cookies, watched movies.
Had a grand old time.
That's what it's all about.
Theories? Well, it's too soon to tell.
There's a lot of other victims.
Although they were only wounded.
WADE: Still, based on the specific location of the shot, just right of the scapula and just below the T-4 vertebrae, our master chief was unlucky, or our sniper knew exactly what he was aiming for.
Well, if he was targeted, then why shoot the others? Don't know.
And we don't know why he killed an investment banker last week outside the ferry terminal.
What do you mean? .
308.
High-powered and long-distance.
Connecting both cases, according to NOPD.
Which means we're probably looking for the same sniper or snipers.
Question is: what's he after? Or are we just dealing with some random crazy? Wouldn't be the first time a sniper terrorized NOLA.
40 years ago.
I remember it all too well.
I never seen my mama that scared before.
Put the whole city on edge for over a week.
Yeah, then we need to stop this joker fast.
Find anything and everything you can on these victims.
Especially connections to that banker.
Want me to call Percy and Brody? Already did.
Left word for Brody.
Sonja's on her way back.
She'll meet you at the squad room.
Copy that.
First a cartel tries to blow up the bridge, and D.
C.
puts us under review.
Now snipers taking potshots at folks.
What's happening to our city, Loretta? Something you're gonna stop.
(phone ringing) Sebastian.
SEBASTIAN: Hey, I'm over here.
Up on the roof.
Yeah, uh, I think I found something.
Actually, I found nothing-- but that could mean something.
Welcome back.
All right, so I triangulated from where the Whoa-ho.
Hey.
You all right? Yeah, yeah.
I'm fine, I'm fine.
You sure? Yeah.
I just long as I don't look down.
I'm not really, uh, crazy about heights.
It's not that I'm acrophobic, per Se, it's just more of a generalized anxiety.
It's probably agoraphobic, actually, now that I think about it, but I never got that diagnosed.
Which means I should call somebody and try to get - Sebastian.
- Sorry.
Uh, okay.
So, I, uh, I triangulated from where the victims were shot, I compared it to the crack of the rounds heard by some of the witnesses, and then factored in sound delay to estimate range, and voila.
You're standing in the sniper's nest.
Stage is almost a half-mile away.
You're sure? Yeah, I'm pretty positive.
Except for the fact that I didn't find any trace evidence, which, you know, is kind of weird.
Well, how can somebody pull all this off without leaving any evidence? Well, that's, uh, that's what's weird.
I mean, there's no spent casings, gunshot residue, hair follicles, shoeprints.
I mean, there's there's nothing.
That's why I-I think it's something.
Sniper's a professional.
Exactly.
Whoever he or she or they were, they knew exactly where to shoot from, how to escape without being detected and how to cover their tracks.
I mean, it reads targeted.
Gonna need your assist on this, Sebastian, till the whole team gets back.
Get Patton to pull surveillance footage, then help him scan for suspects in the immediate area.
And see what you can find on those bullets.
All right, will do.
Okay.
Oh, and by the way, you haven't, uh you haven't heard from Merri-- I mean, uh, Brody, have you? Just 'cause, you know, I put a few calls in to her myself, but she probably forgot to get on the Caribbean calling plan, or something.
Yeah, well, I haven't made contact with her yet.
But I left word.
Know she took the Russo betrayal hard.
Feels bad about the D.
C.
blowback on us.
Maybe she just needs more time.
Right now, case is all that matters.
Get on that surveillance footage, will ya? I'm on it.
Hold the door? Hold the Okay.
(siren whooping in distance) (monitor beeping steadily, air pumping) Bella.
(sobs): It's bad.
(quietly): I know.
I know.
They're getting him ready for surgery.
They said it's life-threatening.
(sniffles) What if I lose him? Don't talk like that.
Doesn't do any good.
You can do this.
I know it, Bella.
I've seen myself what you've overcome.
I just don't understand who would do such a thing.
The whole town's scared half to death.
That's why I'm here.
I'm hoping you can help me.
Can you tell me what you saw? It all happened so fast.
I was only on stage for a few seconds, and all hell broke loose.
Do you know who got shot first? Eyewitnesses are critical in situations like this, and you were front and center.
I think one or two men on the steps, then a woman and Gilbert.
What about the sailor? Was he by the stage, too? First I saw, he was running towards Gilbert.
To help him, I think.
Then (shuddering breath) It's okay.
Come on.
You're doing fine.
(sniffling) So did it look like that Gilbert was just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Random? Wait.
You're saying the shooter was aiming for him? It's not just some crackpot? Nah, I'm just trying (cell phone ringing) to sort it all out.
It's still early.
Oh.
Can you excuse me? I-I have to take this call.
I'll be right back.
Okay? Sorry.
Trying to get ahold of you, Brody.
Where the hell you been? You okay? (jazz playing over radio) Oh, hey, Roy.
How's the arm? Got my wound pin-- nice scar, too.
My hero.
(chuckles) LASALLE: There she is.
I was starting to wonder if you were gonna come back at all.
Oh, yeah, I thought about it.
Then I realized y'all would be lost without me.
Appreciate the sacrifice.
(chuckles) Hell, this place looks good as new.
Seems Lieutenant Buckley can do more than just tend bar.
He's a jack of all trades.
How was the Civil War tour? Interesting.
Uh, spoiler alert: the South lost.
Yeah, I heard.
So what is going on? It took me no time to get here from the airport.
I've never seen the city like this.
Yeah, folks are spooked.
Not sure when the sniper's gonna strike next.
Two separate attacks.
Two are dead, four wounded and one critical.
Any connection between the vics? Not so far.
Couldn't be a more unrelated bunch.
So what are we looking at? Our own Beltway sniper? A random crazy? Well, I don't think so.
He's a expert marksmen, covers his tracks like a pro.
Plus, Miss Loretta called and said the two murder vics were shot straight through the heart.
From a half mile away, too.
Whoa.
Hey, um did Pride hear anything from D.
C.
about whether or not we're being reviewed? No news is good news.
Not necessarily.
Not after you've been infiltrated by a DHS mole.
Speaking of Russo, where is Brody? Don't know.
Pride says she's coming back soon.
I wouldn't count on it.
Just spoke to Merri.
She's not coming back.
I don't understand.
What do you mean, Brody's not coming back? Yeah, did she say for how long? She all right? Said she's sad about leaving us, but not the job.
Seemed pretty clear about her decision.
But, no, that doesn't make sense.
Believe me, I tried to talk her out of it.
Told her that if this had anything to do with being taken advantage of by Russo That's not her fault! None of us knew Russo was a terrorist.
I told her that, too.
And I also said not coming back could make her and us look complicit to D.
C.
There's got to be more to it than that.
I mean, Russo can't just be the only reason she quit.
Claims it's not.
According to her, she's been thinking about this for a long time now.
PATTON: Well, lookee who's back from Chickamauga.
I'm a big Civil War buff myself.
Well, actually, I'm convinced I fought at the Battle of Fort Wagner in my prior life.
Okay, I admit it was a stretch.
PRIDE: Just filled everybody in, Patton.
Brody quit.
Wait, what? Did you tell her about the sniper? Did you tell her how much we need her right now? PRIDE: No, we've always got something going on.
I didn't see any reason to make her feel bad about her decision.
Oh, but it's okay for her to leave us high and dry? Percy.
No, what-what what happened to "we're a team"? This is our family.
She can't just abandon us! Does Sebastian know? Oh, he's gonna be crushed.
(sighs) We've all been caught off guard.
But right now, we got a job to do.
We owe it to the city to put our focus on that.
Gonna have to double up on duties, till I can get some help.
In the meantime, what do we know? Well, not much, unfortunately, other than everyone was shot from long range.
But no other clear links, and no clear motive to want to kill either the banker or our master chief.
Ditto on the cell phone cams and the surveillance footage.
Other than the fact that the sniper disabled selective cameras all around the Moonwalk.
Yeah, which means he, or they, knew exactly how not to be seen.
PATTON: I've been through all the footage I got, but nothing.
The man is a ghost.
Well, I don't believe in ghosts.
Had to disable those cameras at some point.
(phone beeping) Go back days.
Weeks if you have to.
Problem? When the mayor calls? Usually.
See what NOPD has on the first attack and the banker.
If this isn't random, there's got to be a connection.
HAMILTON: Whole damn city's in a panic, Dwayne.
Phone's ringing off the hook.
Governor, senator, media-- they all want to know what the hell we're doing.
You're on this, right? A master chief was one of the victims.
All right, I want you taking lead.
I want you overseeing everything, do you understand? Sorry, what about NOPD, FBI? The NOPD is good, but they're not you.
FBI-- they think they're God.
They don't share jack with us.
Plus, I don't much like them snooping around me anyway.
You mean, the city or you? I think you know what I mean.
Just fix this.
For everybody's sake.
We might be dealing with a pro here.
Victims could be targeted.
Well, it'll make it easier for you to figure out who's doing this.
Be easier if you'd authorize a bigger police presence, ask LSP to put up helos, checkpoints.
Well, I'll do what I can.
Meanwhile, we can't have folks thinking that we're afraid, too.
We need to protect our people.
No, we need to protect our image.
Next to Mardi Gras and Halloween, Fall Fest is the biggest week of the year for us.
I mean, we can't have folks hiding inside their houses.
Got to get out.
We need them outside.
I'm counting on you, Dwayne.
WADE: He can't put this all on you; it's not fair.
Hamilton should be doing everything possible to keep those bodies from ending up on my tables.
Well, I think we both know that smart and fair aren't usually as important to the mayor as covering his backside.
(chuckles) Maybe you should be mayor.
Ha! Think I got enough on my plate.
Thank you very much, Loretta.
Bet your music tour feels like weeks ago, not just yesterday.
So much for finding balance in your life.
Ongoing challenge, to be sure.
Not something I'm giving up on.
Just not a priority at the moment.
Is it ever? I was able to get the victim from the first sniper attack transferred from Orleans M.
E.
The investment banker? And that's when I realized both he and the master chief were shot through the heart.
Perfectly placed, too.
Kill shots.
One lucky shot I could buy, but two? Can't be a coincidence.
Yeah, it means your shooter or shooters are cocky, too.
I mean, they didn't even bother to use the classic Mozambique Drill.
A variation of which was used on JFK.
Do not get me started on that.
On the same page there.
Point is, to try to shoot somebody from half a mile away with a single shot to the heart-- that's more than good.
That's, like, American Sniper good.
Now, whoever you're looking for, they obviously like a challenge.
Still, if he's so good, why miss the other victims? Just injured them.
Maybe he doesn't miss.
Maybe the sniper or snipers just want to make the attacks look random to cover their real targets.
Keep us from figuring out who's behind this and why.
Well, on the who of it all, I might have a lead.
So, Lasalle sent me the NOPD files on the first attack.
And after I compared them to the Burlesque Fest M.
O.
, I was able to triangulate the sniper's nest to Crescent City Connection.
Just like the Moonwalk, it's about a half a mile away.
PRIDE: If so, got to be something on bridge surveillance cameras.
Can't disable them all.
That's good work, Sebastian.
Can you get this to Patton? See what he can find ASAP? ASAP it is.
(door opens) (sighs) (door closes) Take it from a coroner, carrying the weight of the world's not good for longevity.
I know.
But it's more than just all this, Loretta.
Merri.
You know? I'm her landlord.
Or was.
She was afraid to talk to you.
Afraid you'd be disappointed in her.
I'm not disappointed in her.
I'm disappointed in myself.
I should've paid more attention.
I should've seen this coming.
So what, now you want to take on her problems, too? No, it's not that.
It's just that maybe I could've done something.
Maybe I could've talked her out of it.
If I'd, if I'd Dwayne.
What she did and why she did it had nothing to do with you.
Or any of us.
It had everything to do with her.
Brody was my first stab at expanding the team.
Beyond Christopher and myself.
Can't help but feel some responsibility.
Like Sonja says, we're a family.
Brody left because she needed to.
It's that simple.
Wait, Merri left? Just-just like that? She-she's not coming back? What do you got, Patton? Nothing on the bridge.
They disabled the cameras there, too.
But I think I spotted the suspect's van on Tchoupitoulas exit, three minutes after the first attack.
Okay, good.
You got enough to track where he is now? No, not yet.
Well, what'd you call us in here for? Because in looking for it, (beeping) I noticed three now four surveillance cameras going down in and around Champions Square.
When? Right now! King, I think we got a bead on our sniper.
(lively jazz music playing) Where are you, Christopher? Office building on Poydras.
The last surveillance camera that went off was on the rooftop.
Which is 20 floors up.
MAN: Give it up for Big Sam on the trombone, y'all! ETA on the state chopper is five minutes.
MAN: That's right, y'all.
We got it, baby! (gunshot, man grunts) Ow, my leg! Federal agents! Get down! Everybody, get down! Get out of here! Get out! (gunshot, woman screams) PRIDE: Down, down! Get out! Get out of here! Get out! Go! Get out of the way! Get out! Get out of here! Everybody, get out! (gunshot) Sniper! On the balcony! I see him! (people shouting) Federal agents! Drop your weapon! Do it now! WOMAN: He's getting away! Stop, or I'll shoot! Get your hands up! Drop your weapon.
Whoa, whoa, don't shoot.
I'm putting the gun down.
Turn around slowly.
FBI? Friendly little town you got here.
And now one that still has a sniper on the loose, thanks to you.
(sirens wailing, emergency horn blares) LASALLE: You still haven't told us how you knew the sniper would be there.
SAC says it's on a need-to-know basis.
We're federal agents and we need to know.
Not my call.
You couldn't have used ShotSpotter.
That doesn't work until after shots are fired.
FBI uses other tools.
Like Geo-profiling software? That's right, you used to be ATF.
Hey, hold up.
How did you know that? We just met.
I do my homework.
I like to know who the good guys are when I come into town, so I don't get into any more friendly fire incidents.
Kidding.
Relax.
Yeah, well, you're lucky we didn't shoot you.
And it wouldn't have been a problem if the FBI would've deigned to share Intel with us.
So, you're not NOLA? Spent some time down here a few years go, then bolted.
I'm not much of a foodie or big on humidity.
Still, since they know I have history, D.
C.
sent me down here to assist.
Whoa, did you say D.
C.
? That's right.
They want this solved yesterday, and because of that, we don't have time to catch everybody up.
No offense.
Too late.
You Agent Pride? Special Agent Tammy Gregorio.
NOLA FBI says a lot of good things about you.
It's really nice to meet you.
Be nicer if we had a little interagency cooperation.
I don't like how this went down.
As I explained to your May I finish? I already talked to NOLA FBI.
I don't have time or patience for jurisdictional battles.
Neither does the city.
Understand? Yes, sir.
Did you get a look at the sniper? Tried to, and then I got interrupted.
We'll check surveillance, cell cameras, too.
See if anyone saw him rappeling down the building.
Make sure the rope and the bag get processed, sent to Sebastian, along with the bullets.
Sniper can't have done all this without leaving something behind.
Yeah.
You got it.
Do a deep dive into the latest victim.
There got to be a pattern with the other vics; find it.
Copy that.
Look, Agent Pride, I apologize if we got off on the wrong foot.
I'm from New York.
It happens.
Not anymore.
From this point on, we work together.
I want to know everything you know about this case.
The only thing that matters to me is stopping the sniper before anybody else gets hurt, capisce? REPORTER: Mr.
Mayor! Do you know who the sniper is? Is there more than one? Mr.
Mayor, what are you doing to protect the city? Should people stay inside? Will you have to cancel Fall Fest? No, no, no, no, no.
Just no.
No-Nobody's canceling anything, okay? FBI, ATF, NOPD-- we've got a coordinated law enforcement effort blanketing the city.
As a matter of fact, we almost caught the bastard today.
And I'm confident we are on his heels.
NCIS has assured me of that.
Oh, great, put all the pressure on us, why don't you.
Yeah, he's just a big ol' blowhard.
Yeah, well all I know is we got squat.
Still nothing to connect the victims.
Nothing on surveillance.
The city's in a panic.
Brody's gone.
Now we got this snotty FBI chick to deal with? - Hey, come on - Don't! Don't.
Are we ever gonna talk about it, Percy, or we just gonna pretend like nothing ever happened? There's nothing to talk about.
It was just a stupid hug.
A stupid hug, huh? Am I interrupting something? Yes.
No.
Okay.
Did you find the van? PATTON: No.
That's a ghost, too.
But I think I may have found something to connect at least two of our murder victims.
First one, the banker, shot at the casino.
Now, this guy was seriously in debt up till about six months ago.
Then all of a sudden, he was flush with cash.
Taking his lady friends to five-star resorts, buying bling, living large.
Same as our latest victim, shot at Champions Square.
Unless a postal worker is making way more scratch than I'm aware of, this guy was living the high life, too.
Payoffs? (scoffs) Too big of a coincidence not to be.
The only problem is our master chief.
He doesn't fit the pattern.
This guy never spent a dime over his pay grade.
(sighs) Which means we still got squat.
Another kill shot? Severed aorta.
Whoever your sniper is, he's pretty consistent, I'll give him that.
Single kill shot's his signature.
Helps him withdraw before being detected by I.
R.
or acoustics.
Means he could be ex-SWAT, maybe military, especially considering the specificity of his aim.
This is Special Agent Gregorio, FBI.
D.
C.
sent her down to lend us a hand.
D.
C.
? Dr.
Loretta Wade.
Nice to meet you.
Likewise.
I take it you're an expert on snipers.
Trained sharpshooter myself-- one of only a few female agents.
My divisional specialty is actually counterterrorism and behavioral profiling, but obviously sniper activity is a sub-specialty.
Obviously.
You said his signature is a single kill shot, but our sniper injures others, too.
His first shot is to cover his motive, make us think it's random.
Then, after the kill shot, he's gone.
And public hysteria only helps his cover.
Media, too, which is why he never uses a silencer.
The more people panic, the less they witness.
Go into survival mode.
He knows exactly what he's doing.
That's why he's so difficult to detect.
May I? I've incorporated several factors in my preliminary profile to try and optimize search strategy.
Preferred location, desire for anonymity, supersonic signature of rounds.
Uh, who-who's she? GREGORIO: And assuming he's the best of the best, loves a challenge, I was able to narrow down my suspect list as well as potential hunting areas.
Fortunately, I was already near the first one when he struck.
Wait.
So, you were in town before the first attack? Which means D.
C.
didn't send you because of all this.
You didn't come down here to investigate the sniper.
You came down here to investigate us.
CHARLENE: I need that report on my desk ASAP.
Charlene, why didn't you tell me D.
C.
was down here already? Dwayne, listen, I When I called before about us working together, why didn't you say something? Listen, Dwayne, I wanted to tell you, believe me, but I'm in an awkward position.
Awkward, how? Damn it, Charlene, we go way back, and I think I deserve the courtesy of I It wasn't her call.
It was mine.
Who the hell are you? I'm Executive Assistant Director Raymond Isler.
I'm with the FBI's National Security Branch in D.
C.
Shall we chat? How long you been down here? ISLER: The DOJ sent us down two weeks ago, right after your team was placed on administrative leave.
Why wasn't I told? Oh, we weren't keeping it from you, but you were on vacation.
Forget how to use a cell? A DHS mole infiltrated your team, Agent Pride, used one of your own agents to nearly pull off a disastrous terror attack that would've blocked the Mississippi River.
An attack my team stopped.
Barely.
By the way, w-where is Agent Brody? We haven't been able to contact her yet.
Still on vacation.
Look, nobody's accusing you or your people of being complicit.
But because Brody was compromised and because your NCIS team is responsible for overseeing one of the most vulnerable entry points into the U.
S.
, you have to admit that investigating potential additional involvement is warranted.
Warranted, maybe.
But this isn't how we do things down here.
This isn't D.
C.
NOLA's a small town.
Everybody knows somebody.
It's best to be square up top.
I'll keep that in mind.
I'm sorry.
ISLER: It's okay, Gregorio.
I was just filling Agent Pride in.
Turns out the DHS mole wasn't operating alone.
Intel discovered that he and the Ciudad Natal cartel had embedded accomplices in the area-- inside help.
We need to identify who they are, in case they're planning another attack.
Understood.
But "they" aren't any of us, so you're wasting your time.
Worse, what you should be focusing on is the sniper.
Town's on edge, Agent Isler.
That should be our only priority.
Agreed.
(Lasalle whoops) Smells good in here.
What do you got? Grits and grillades, just like how my mama taught me.
And this is vegan, I trust? Can't very well leave you out now, can I? Thank you.
I'll bet the D.
C.
agents wouldn't even know what to do with it.
Yeah.
Probably a bunch of wheatgrass and flaxseed types.
Thank you.
Just like you.
Hey, don't lump me in with them.
(chuckles) Here you go.
We got anything to worry about, King? We done nothing wrong.
Just the process.
Well, the process sucks.
You know we stopped the terrorist attack.
Right now our only concern's the sniper.
Yeah, thought we had a connection between the vics, but master chief messed that all up.
That's why I've been thinking, maybe he wasn't the intended target.
It was a kill shot, just like the other two.
Yeah, but through the back, unlike the other two.
Moving to assist the restaurant owner.
What do we know about Bella's fiancé, Gilbert Lee? I don't think Patton checked him out.
So, you think the sniper was aiming at Gilbert, but the master chief just got in the way? Bullet went right through him, into Gilbert, nearly killed them both.
Expert marksman, high-powered rifle, somehow misses Gilbert on the first shot, doesn't have a choice on the second.
I think you might be onto something, King.
Looks like Gilbert was living way above his means, too.
Look, he bought a beachfront condo-- cash.
If we eliminate the master chief from the equation, we got a clear pattern.
Each of the intended targets were getting payoffs from somebody.
Somebody who wants to cover their tracks by silencing them permanently.
Still, it's a stretch to think the sniper intentionally aimed at the master chief to get to the restaurant owner.
May not have had a choice.
Master chief was probably about to take him to safety.
Plus, you said our sniper loves a challenge.
Narrow down your suspect list any? Maybe.
Let's see.
Three hit men with similar signature M.
O.
s, but only one could possibly be that good, or that cocky.
Alexander Costas, originally trained to fight trafficking in Colombia, felt betrayed by the CIA and turned on U.
S.
assets.
Could be he's working for one of the cartels now? And trying to get out embedded assets if it's Ciudad Natal.
I'll get a BOLO out.
Wait, wait, wait.
You saying the victims were helping Russo try and blow up the port? Well, we know he had NOLA support, and the victims were getting payoffs from somebody.
Plus, Costas is Colombian.
Makes sense.
It's all connected.
Well, if you're right, then why hasn't Costas tried to kill the restaurant owner again? Isn't he concerned that Gilbert's gonna talk? Yes, but I know that Gilbert's been in surgery.
When's he out? (monitor beeping steadily) You sure he's all right to travel? Yeah.
He's stable now, and they'll be monitoring him the entire flight.
They're prepping Gilbert to fly now.
Any sign of Costas? No, but if he knows they're moving Gilbert, he'll know where to take his next shot.
Which means we can't let Gilbert leave the hospital.
We don't have a choice.
He'll die if he doesn't get the transplant.
Yeah, but if you're right about Costas, he'll die before he gets to the airport.
Gregorio.
Exactly how good of a shot are you? I checked the paramedic's airport route, which means Costas could've checked it, too.
If I'm right, he'll take his shot the moment the ambulance reaches Canal Street.
Because it's crowded.
Especially on a Sunday.
Not bad for someone who supposedly doesn't know NOLA.
Still a risky plan, King.
Especially for you and me.
Gregorio says she's a sharpshooter.
That won't matter if we don't spot Costas before he takes the kill shot.
Why don't you do your job and I'll do mine.
Yo, you're pretty cocky, aren't you? Yeah, I am.
Besides, I can't keep investigating you if I let you get killed, right? Fair enough.
Let's do this.
Hey.
Don't worry.
I got your back, Country Mouse.
You'd better.
"Country Mouse"? What's that, like, a thing? Actually, lady, it's none of your business.
And don't miss.
I ain't losing anybody else.
Hope the sniper shoots the right dummy.
You and me both.
Yo, that's a pretty big area.
You sure you can narrow it down? Broad daylight, 15 floors minimum? He won't use a rooftop nest because he never repeats an escape route.
Yeah, but it's still a lot of windows and balconies.
Use the hotel and the casino as your boundaries.
It's his best sight line down to Canal Street.
Go ahead, Pride.
(siren wailing) PRIDE: Coming up on Canal.
Any sign of him? Not yet.
Keep driving.
As soon as we spot the sniper, you'll make your move.
That's easy for you to say.
Just stay away from the body, Chris.
That's what he'll be aiming for.
Well, don't forget he likes to injure other people, too.
(siren continues wailing) Running out of time here.
Where the hell is he? Remember, don't crank your wheel until I tell you.
I'll need a second to line up my shot.
PRIDE: Copy that.
(exhales) Uh, I don't like this.
There.
4:15, side A, window five.
Pride, now.
Hold on.
(tires screeching) (people clamoring) You got him.
Pretty sure it was right through the heart, too.
Karma's a bitch.
(chuckles) Copy that.
Sniper's down.
All clear.
(sirens approaching) Copy that.
Good job.
Code 4.
(sirens approaching, tires screech) She's good.
I'll give her that.
Yeah.
But the problem is, now we're back in her crosshairs.
(lively jazz music playing) Now, didn't I promise y'all we'd catch the bastard? Huh? Didn't I tell you we'd do it? NOLA proud! Who dat?! Hey! How you doing, my man? Now let's get this party started.
Yeah! Unbelievable.
(TV clicks off) Who actually voted for that guy, anyway? Eh, folks who like to party.
Which, for better or worse, is more than half of New Orleans.
Well, I don't trust the guy.
Never will.
Got to take the good with the bad with Hamilton.
Oh, and what's the good again? Good is, we got the bad guy before he hurt anybody else.
Dangerous man.
Could've been a lot worse.
Yeah, could be worse for us, still.
Now that we know he was hired to eliminate cartel embeds, D.
C.
's gonna be sticking around a while longer.
Just until the FBI roots out the last of them.
Or roots us out.
Like I said, we've done nothing wrong.
Still, that doesn't always matter to DOJ.
Look, another unit got reviewed once when I was with ATF.
It didn't matter they didn't do anything wrong.
They wanted a scapegoat, they got one.
Not gonna let that happen to us.
Promise? Count on it.
What are we gonna do with her stuff? We leave it alone.
It's hers.
Sorry.
Gonna take some time to get over.
Not gonna happen overnight.
Not something we were expecting, not something we've even had time to process.
I still can't believe Merri's not coming back.
I know.
But it is what it is.
And we have to stick together, more so now than ever.
Still a family, Sonja, just a little smaller is all.
Okay, so (sighs) Let's go.
We got a burlesque competition to go to.
Wait.
What was that? - Uh I offered up the bar.
Uh, they roped me into it.
Don't give me any guff.
Oh, I'm not making any promises.
(chuckles) Show must go on.
Oh! BOTH: After you.
(sultry jazz music playing, lively chatter) Why didn't Merri call? She should've called.
Come on, Sebastian.
Man up.
It's not like you got dumped or something.
I sure as heck did get dumped, man.
Doesn't matter that we didn't actually date.
You, uh, want me to call him a cab? More like a shrink.
SEBASTIAN: Should've asked her out is what I should've done.
She would've stayed if I had asked her out.
Mm-hmm.
Night, night.
SONJA: (sighs) Poor guy.
He's gonna feel even worse in the morning.
(chuckles) Yow-uh! Yeah.
(laughing) Loretta.
Hmm? Don't tell me you're here for the burlesque, too.
Oh, what? Can't a woman enjoy the fine art of satirical theater? (laughs): Okay.
Is that what it is? I appreciate art in any form.
Well, I'll drink to that.
Tap, boss? Thanks, Buckley.
And by the way you did a nice job cleaning up the squad room.
Oh.
Least I can do.
Appreciate it.
(Wade sighs) How is everybody holding up? Talking about Brody? Too early to tell.
How are you holding up? Uh, well.
Trying to take the advice of a wise woman.
Working on letting myself off the hook.
Oh! Seems like a very wise woman.
Come on, Dwayne, we're short a judge.
Oh, no, yeah.
Uh, that's okay.
No, I'm just here to Oh, come on.
You don't want to let NOLA down, do you? Let's go.
Oh, God.
Okay.
(laughs) (sultry jazz music playing, crowd cheering) (wolf whistles) Ah! (laughs) @elderman