NCIS New Orleans (2014) s03e16 Episode Script
The Last Stand
1 (alligator growls) (phone beeping) (beeping speeds up) (beeping stops) (wood cracks loudly) (gunshots) (squawking wildly) NCIS:New Orleans 3x16 The Last Stand Boom, boom, boom, boom Bang, bang, bang, bang Boom, boom, boom, boom How, how, how, how Hey, hey You gotta come on.
(playing jazzy piano music) No, thanks, Hoyt.
School night, it's getting late.
Not my idea.
It's hers.
Apparently, you got a fan.
Been watching you play for a while now.
What do you want me to do? I'll handle it.
Thanks for the drink.
Thought you could use it.
Really? Why's that? Oh, seem a little tense.
You might want to lighten up on the keys.
Oh.
Music critic, huh? You play? No.
I used to sing a little, though.
Long time ago.
Why'd you stop? Lost my piano player.
By the way, I still haven't forgiven you.
For the record wasn't just me who ended it.
Besides, 25 years is a long time to hold a grudge.
26, but who's counting? (chuckles) I heard you moved back.
I wondered when we'd bump into each other.
Forgot nothing happens in this town without you knowing about it.
(chuckles) Yeah.
You look good, Dwayne.
(sighs) You, too, Rita.
By the way, sorry to hear about you and Lloyd.
Sorry to hear about you and Linda.
Divorce sucks, right? Yeah.
Sometimes you gotta just move on Don't get me wrong, I'm, uh, I'm glad to see you and all, but, uh buying me a drink at 1:00 in the morning after all these years? (chuckles) Everything all right? (exhales) No.
No, it's not.
No one else gonna love you like I do.
SEBASTIAN: That's it, I got to find a new mode of transportation.
I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm a moped guy through and through.
But the law of physics is not in my favor when there's a huge SUV riding right up my Glass.
Well, yeah, rhymes with âglassâ" but that's not what I was gonna say it was.
No, no, no.
I mean this glass.
Check it out.
This isn't another newbie hazing thing? Just look at it, please, will you? What do you see? Lipstick.
Looks like Pride had some company over here last night.
Female company.
Oh, you mean Pride? Lady time at work? Nah, I don't think so.
Hey, is coffee on? SEBASTIAN: Hey, Lasalle, tomorrow, do you think you can swing by and pick me up, too? I'm done with my moped, man.
GREGORIO: Excuse me.
Are you just gonna ignore this? Ignore what? Well, Gregorio seems to think that Pride had a date last night.
Yes.
Late night, home-cooked meal, couple of drinks, lipstick? Hello.
Doesn't even smell like alcohol.
Oh, come on.
Aren't you guys the least bit curious about this? No, 'cause whatever âthisâ is, it's not what you think.
Our King's not like that.
He wouldn't bring anybody to the office.
Like what? He lives upstairs.
You're still new, Gregorio, so you don't know.
You don't know.
You don't know.
SONJA: What we've learned is Pride is married to his work.
Period.
Okay.
All right.
$20 says I'm right.
ALL: You're on.
(knock at door) PRIDE: Got a case.
JAG lawyer Noah Sandler.
Prosecutes highly classified cases for the Navy.
He's gone missing.
For how long? The last time anybody heard from him was the night before last.
Called a fellow JAG.
Said he had something sensitive to discuss with her, but never showed.
Her? Reserve JAG Devereaux, also an A.
D.
A.
She trained Noah.
Gave him his start.
Knows he wouldn't have called if it wasn't important.
So she thinks something happened to him? Yeah, we both do.
Rita and I went to his GREGORIO: Rita? PRIDE: Sorry.
JAG Devereaux and I went to his apartment last night, but there were no signs of him or his car.
Well, still, it's only been a day and a half.
I mean, NOPD doesn't even take missing persons cases for what, 48 hours? Yeah, well, we're not NOPD.
And this isn't just anybody we're talking about here.
Sorry.
Look, I I admit there's nothing much to go on here yet, but I've known Rita a long time.
She's not one to panic easily.
She's concerned.
I told her we'd help.
A friend of yours is a friend of ours, King.
What's our next move? Only thing suspicious we found at JAG Noah's apartment was there was nothing on his computer.
Nothing? Like it had been erased? Yeah.
I want you and Patton to work on it.
Maybe see if you can restore what was on it.
Might give us some leads.
Christopher, Percy, deep dive Noah.
Credit card charges, phone records, surveillance cameras.
Anything that might help us trace his last known whereabouts.
You got it.
What can I do? You and I are going to Belle Chasse.
Okay.
See if we can figure out which, if any, of Noah's cases have something to do with his disappearance.
Classified cases-- do we have access? Yeah, we do, and Rita will meet us there to help us sort things out.
Okay, then.
Look forward to meeting this Rita.
Don't get me wrong.
If there's anything I've learned since I got here, is you have a definite nose for justice.
It's just, you know, unusual way of taking the case, is all.
What are you trying to get at, Gregorio? No, nothing.
I'm just saying, we usually start things off with an actual crime.
Phone call, a body.
But here, banking a lot on this Rita friend of yours.
You must have good reason to trust her instincts.
I do.
Oh.
Keep fishing, New York.
RITA: Thanks for doing this, Dwayne.
No thanks necessary.
Special Agent Tammy Gregorio, Assistant District Attorney, Reserve Naval Commander, JAG Corps Rita Devereaux.
Lot of titles, I know.
You can call me Rita.
Nice to meet you, Rita.
D.
A.
get us any access? Had to go back on active duty to get it, but yes.
Glad the uniform still fits.
It's been a while.
No, you look great.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Ladies? Yeah.
We find anything in Noah's case files that might help? No, nothing yet, unfortunately.
I've gone through all his current JAG caseload, but although sensitive, nothing stands out as suspicious.
What about his computer? Has that been erased, too? No, it seems to be intact.
His last entry was calendaring the meet he wanted to have with me tomorrow morning.
Home computer wiped, office not? If Noah's really missing, could be more of a personal nature than business.
Gregorio's right.
If there aren't any leads here, but there were at his apartment Look, you knew him well.
What did he do with his personal time? We really haven't had a chance to catch up since I moved back here a couple months ago.
Oh, you lived in New Orleans? Long time ago, way, way back when I first met Dwayne.
Looks like Noah was pretty involved with Fort MacArthur.
GREGORIO: What's Fort MacArthur? Private military academy outside the city.
Town has a long-standing history with the school.
Takes in troubled juvies with criminal records.
Place is their last shot at turning their lives around.
RITA: Just like it did for Noah.
Academy offered him structure and direction.
It's why he joined the Navy.
And why he's been volunteering there ever since.
He likes to give back.
A lot like you, actually.
GREGORIO: Looks like your friend was doing more than volunteering.
Student files, log books, leave requests, blueprints of the school's ground.
I mean, it almost feels like (phone rings) he was investigating something there.
I wonder what.
What you got, Sebastian? Okay.
We're on our way.
Uh, tell Christopher we'll meet them there.
Noah's computer was erased remotely, but they were able to trace the IP address to his laptop.
Call me.
Good or bad.
Promise.
Noah Sandler's vehicle.
Judging by the tire tracks, it sat here overnight.
Any sign of Noah? Not yet.
Any idea what he was doing all the way out here? Well, it could have been gator hunt.
Got the gear.
It's a popular spot, but you got to have courage.
Meaning? (sighs) Lake Verret's not the safest place to hunt.
PRIDE: It's pretty remote and dangerous.
Nobody usually comes out here alone.
Found the laptop, but it's been wiped clean, too.
And according to Sebastian, it was used to remotely erase Noah's home computer first.
Noah didn't come all the way out here to erase computers.
King.
Whoa.
(growling) Hyah.
Get back.
Hyah.
(growling) Hyah.
Get back.
Get back.
Hyah.
Yeah.
(hisses) Get back.
Hyah.
It's probably Noah.
Looks like he's been shot twice.
Which means our missing persons case just turned into a murder.
SEBASTIAN: Hey, Doc Wade call you yet? No, why? She just finished her prelim autopsy on JAG Noah.
Turns out you were right.
He was shot twice in the back.
Hunting accident? I don't think so.
It was a tight pattern, and both went right through the heart.
Kill shots.
Question is, who killed him and why? Looked like he drove out there by himself.
Someone lying in wait, hoping to make it look like a hunting accident? Yeah, how'd they know he'd even be out there? And why was he there? Calls your friend Rita, says he wants to discuss a sensitive case with her.
Well, it had to be connected to whatever case he wanted to talk to her about, right? And told her it was important.
Thing is, if Rita hadn't come to me when she did, probably never would have found Noah's body.
Gators would have made sure of that.
Was probably what the killer was hoping for.
You and Patton have any luck figuring out what was on Noah's computers before they got erased? Nada.
We even hacked into the cloud to check the data stream.
Which means whoever it was went through an awful lot of trouble to cover up whatever Noah was working on.
RITA: Any word? You said you would call.
I know.
But we just got back, and I I wanted to be sure first.
Sure of what? Good or bad, you wanted to know.
It's not good.
Noah was murdered, Rita.
He was shot.
What? How? Who? I don't know.
We just started the investigation.
I assume that that you've kept looking.
Any idea what Noah wanted to talk to you about yet? What was so important? I, uh I think it had something to do with Terrence Lewis.
He's one of the cadets that Noah was mentoring at the academy.
I started looking more into Noah's Fort MacArthur connections after you left.
What's so special about Lewis? Uh, Noah had requested the boy's juvenile criminal file, but JAGs can't access a minor's record without a court order.
But A.
D.
A.
s can, and you're thinking that, uh, he called you, hoping you could get him the files? Troubled kid, Terrence Lewis.
Assault, armed robbery, and it doesn't look like he got reformed at the academy, either.
Kept getting into trouble, both in and out of Fort MacArthur.
If Terrence Lewis knew Noah was investigating him He might have killed him so he couldn't? That's a stretch.
I'm just looking at the facts, Dwayne.
It's what I do.
And I'm sorry, but not every kid can be reformed.
And Lewis looks like he wasn't.
Violent background, access to weapons, and then Noah gets shot to death before we can even meet? If that's not probable cause, I don't know what is.
Don't want to rush to judgment here.
Especially when it comes to the kids at the academy.
Suspects are suspects, regardless of age.
Look, I know that Noah was your friend.
That's got nothing to do with this.
It does when you're not thinking straight 'cause you're loaded for bear.
(exhales) Might be the first argument I ever won with you.
I got a good team here, Rita.
They're good at their jobs.
Let us investigate Terrence Lewis and whatever connection the academy may or may not have had in this, and I promise we'll find out who killed Noah.
Okay.
But if you don't, I will.
(guns firing, drill commands shouted) (drums playing) Agent Pride? General Walsh.
Heard a lot about you.
It's nice to finally meet you.
PRIDE: You, too, General.
Special Agents Percy and Lasalle.
Welcome.
Hey, General.
Welcome.
Thank you.
DRILL SERGEANT: Atten-hut.
WALSH: So what brings NCIS to Fort MacArthur? Well, probably best to discuss in private.
Minors around, want to handle this as sensitively as possible.
Understood and appreciated.
Especially considering where most of our cadets come from.
Law tends to assume the worst about them.
Uh, General Sklahr, who is that? PRIDE: He was the man who practically founded this place.
You're familiar? Hard to grow up in this town and not be.
All the good he did, troubled kids he helped.
WALSH: He gave 'em a home, a second chance.
General Sklahr was the father figure most of these boys didn't have.
That's large shoes to fill.
Proud to have been appointed to do exactly that.
Although, easier said than done.
COMMANDING OFFICER: Halt! CADETS: The military live So, which of my boys is in trouble? Well, not sure any are yet.
That's why we're here.
Hoping for an assist.
We'd like to talk with one of your cadets, Terrence Lewis.
Well, so would I.
Private Lewis has been UA for three weeks now.
Wish I could say that was unusual.
LASALLE: Lewis go missing often? Unfortunately, yes.
We take pride here in reforming boys, teaching 'em to obey orders, how to commit to something larger than themselves.
But, we're not always successful and I'm afraid that includes Private Lewis.
You notify NOPD he was missing? They don't have the manpower to chase down runaways and juvies like Lewis aren't a high priority.
What's he done? Again, not sure, but, uh I'm sorry to say, JAG Noah Sandler has been murdered.
And Terrence Lewis is a person of interest.
(sighs) Noah, my God.
How, when? Last night.
And what we know now is: Noah was investigating Lewis.
And maybe even the academy.
Investigating? Noah never said anything to me about it and he was here all the time.
He mentored lots of boys, not just Private Lewis.
Is it all right if we speak with Lewis' commanding officer? Of course.
Uh Dorsey, come in here, please.
Sir? These are NCIS agents, Captain Dorsey.
They need to speak to Commander Cabral ASAP.
Yes, sir.
Right this way.
Agent Pride? This news of Noah's death is gonna hit the boys hard.
I'd rather they hear it from me, if that's all right with you.
Yes, sir.
(sighs) (door opens) What do we got, Loretta? I'm sorry, that was way too much like Pride.
That was awful.
God, I got to work on that.
I'll work on it, it's gonna be fine.
Stop trying so hard, Sebastian, you're doing fine.
I know, I know, I know, it's just still trying to find my NCIS way, I guess.
You know? Maybe I should keep the moped.
You here for an update? I am.
Yeah, inquiring minds want to know.
Especially Pride's.
Well, obviously, an intact body would have helped, but from the pattern of the cuts and abrasions I've seen, coupled with the lack of coagulation, it appears JAG Noah's body was dragged postmortem.
Because of Tick-Tock Croc? It's a Peter Pan reference.
Anyway, the alligator bite pattern didn't match the indicated direction of the cuts, so So the killer must have dragged Noah after he shot him, closer to the water.
Hoping the alligators would devour the evidence, yes.
(sighs) Doesn't really get us any closer to IDing the killer, though.
Is there any way that we can, uh, narrow down what type of gun was used? It was definitely an automatic rifle of some kind.
Based on the entry wound, probably military.
I can't be sure until you find me the projectiles.
Yeah, well, good luck with that, right? A high-powered rifle, bullets went right through the body, it's probably buried back in the bayou somewhere.
Mm-hmm.
Sounds like a field trip to me.
Yeah.
Wait, do you mean me? You-- you want me to go back out there to deadly gator-world? By myself? Tick-Tock Croc.
(sighs) All right.
I'll see you never.
(door opens) DORSEY: Platoon, atten-hut! Good afternoon, sir.
At ease, Commander.
Commander Cabral, these are NCIS agents.
They need to speak with you in private.
Of course, sir.
Cole, front and center.
Your command, Lieutenant.
Aye, sir.
Still can't wrap my head around how teaching juvies to shoot M16s helps reform them.
Well, it's not about that.
It teaches them responsibility.
At least this place gives them a chance.
Port arms! How can I be of assistance? I understand Terrence Lewis was in your squad, Commander? Is in my squad.
Yes, sir.
Although, currently, Private Lewis is UA, I know.
How well do you know him? General Walsh assigned him to my squad three months ago.
Hoped I could straighten him out.
How so? Permission to speak freely? We're just looking for answers.
However you can help.
Private Lewis was a difficult recruit.
The academy prides itself on strength through loyalty, following orders.
Lewis fought it every step of the way.
So I take it you and Lewis didn't get along very well.
Lewis didn't get along with anyone very well.
What about JAG Noah? JAG He's the best, he's always been there for us.
Lewis, too, but But what, son? Just a few weeks ago, JAG Noah tried to help Lewis with some stuff he was going through.
But Lewis got mad.
Violent, even.
Hit JAG Noah-- hard, too.
That's the last anyone ever saw of him.
(device beeping slowly) (loud growl) What the? (beeping) (beeping rapidly) Bingo.
Okay.
(beeping steadily) (beeping rapidly) Oh, my God! Judging by the rate of decomposition, I'd estimate the boy died about three weeks ago.
SEBASTIAN: Same time Lewis went UA.
Cause of death? WADE: Your missing cadet was obviously beaten.
Even after all this time, bruises on his face, arms, and chest are still evident.
Yeah, more interesting, though, is what was used to beat him.
Yes, we recovered the same substance found in the epidermis of the bruises-- lye, glycerin, potassium hydroxide I.
e.
, soap.
We even found trace amounts of it in Lewis' mouth.
Soap? Soap bashing.
A hazing technique the military has long condemned.
Except soap didn't break the boy's parietal bone.
The cause of death was a sharp blow to the back of the head, and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what was used.
Hazing gone too far? If so, JAG Noah may have been investigating Terrence Lewis as a victim, not a juvie.
Somehow figured out where the body had been dumped, went to Lake Verret to investigate, and then got shot by whoever killed Lewis.
Well, I hate to say it, but if more than one cadet really did haze Lewis, then it's hard to believe they're not responsible for both murders.
We're not gonna jump to conclusions here, okay? (phone beeping) We need to be sure.
Okay, Loretta, I need to know what exactly was used to kill Terrence Lewis.
On it.
PRIDE: Sebastian, get an ID on those bullets that killed JAG Noah.
I want to know what type of weapon they came from ASAP.
Copy that.
Where you going? Rita just texted.
I need to try and slow her down.
Send her up as soon as she gets here.
Max Cabral, assault with a deadly weapon.
William Cole, aggravated assault.
Jamal Povey, attempted rape.
Rita Tyler Wilson, armed robbery.
And the list goes on.
I unsealed every cadet's criminal record after I heard about what happened.
I know Noah believed in these boys, Dwayne.
I know you probably do, too.
But you can't tell me none of them are capable of murder.
You can't prejudge them from their past.
That's not fair.
That's what reform's all about.
This isn't about reform anymore.
This is about justice.
I agree, but all I'm saying is we don't know enough yet.
Well, we know enough to get a search and arrest warrant for the entire academy, which is exactly what I'm going to do.
And what if you're wrong, like you were yesterday, when you thought that Lewis killed Noah? Bring all those warrants, media follows, makes this headline news, and Fort MacArthur gets shut down.
Is that what you want? No! I want justice, and you should want that, too.
They're boys.
They're suspects! Look, I know everybody in this town loves you, Dwayne.
They always have because you always put them first.
Believe me, I know.
This isn't about us, Rita.
I know how you grew up.
I know how you want to give everyone, especially the underdogs, the benefit of the doubt, but sometimes they don't deserve it.
We don't know enough yet.
There's too much risk to those boys and to the academy.
So, Rita, please I disagree.
JAG Noah may be your jurisdiction, but Terrence Lewis is mine.
I'm getting the arrest warrants.
DRILL SERGEANT: Hut! (sighs) I don't believe this.
Hazing? Murder? WALSH: If any of this is true, I've lost total control of this school.
How certain are you of this? The bullets that killed Noah could have come from one of the academy's rifles, so we need to find out what is true if we have any hopes of containing the situation.
And to do that, we need to test your cadets' rifles for matches, and know which students were off-campus or on leave during both murders.
I'll get the logs.
(gunshots) Clear! Thank you guys for your cooperation.
Didn't know how you would act after finding out what happened to JAG Noah.
He'd be the first to counsel calm and tell us to follow orders, and that's what I'm doing.
Okay, whose rifle's up next? Commander Cabral's.
Let's have it.
(gunshots) I still don't understand, why are they checking our guns? I don't know.
Commander Cabral.
At ease.
General Walsh needs to see you, Commander.
It's about Private Lewis.
Fide, Honorem, Victoria.
Yes, sir.
Prep the squad for Code 18.
But Just do it! (gunshots) Christopher? What is it? I don't know, but I don't have a good feeling about this.
Something's definitely up over there.
One ID shows off premises at the time of both murders.
Dog tag 2476.
PRIDE: 247 Lieutenant Commander Max Cabral.
Max? Yeah, well, his rifle just matched the bullets that killed JAG Noah.
(alarm blaring) What's that? It's a lockdown.
But I didn't order it.
Whoa! What the hell is going on? I'm protecting the academy.
Hands up! (sirens wailing) (alarm blaring) Let's go, come on.
Down here.
Come on, let's go.
Stop looking back.
Keep going, come on! You don't know what you're doing, son.
You're not thinking straight.
What is this supposed to Sit down! Sit down! CABRAL: Pull their weapons.
(alarm buzzer continues) (cell phone ringing) You should answer that.
Talk to him.
No, don't.
Don't.
We're under strict orders.
Orders? Orders from who? Stand watch.
Go! Go! Go! (indistinct shouting) No answer? No.
It's weird.
Pride.
Anything? NOPD and LSP are evacuating the students.
SWAT's taking position.
Geez-- Dorsey! Why is SWAT here? Rita.
She called them.
It's procedure when serving felony warrants, and in this case, it's obviously warranted.
Where the hell are Christopher and Sonja? NOPD saw a squad of them take them into the mess hall at gunpoint.
What? Students were blocking the windows.
No one's answering.
Things are getting out of hand here, General.
Fast.
Dorsey! Sir.
You just spoke to Commander Cabral, what did he say? Well, he didn't say anything.
I just told him you wanted to talk to him about Lewis, then he triggered a lockdown.
You don't think Cabral had anything to do with this, do you? No, no, no.
Hold on.
All we know right now is that the bullets match Cabral's rifle.
That's it.
SEBASTIAN: Right.
Why would he hand us over his rifle when we asked for it, without even hesitating, if he knew it was gonna match the murder weapon? GREGORIO: He wouldn't have let you test it.
Get ahold of Loretta.
Okay, let's hope she's got some answers.
We're missing something here.
I'm still trying to establish communication and waiting on drones, stand by.
A.
D.
A.
Devereaux.
What's going on? What happened? The cadets have locked down the school.
Wait, because of the warrants? We never got a chance to serve them.
Now, they're ensconced, heavily armed and they've got hostages.
How long till HRT gets here? (sighs) 15 to 20 minutes, but based on the situation, we may not have that long.
I want scopes in every window and access Okay, look, I don't want this blowing up on us.
We need to find out what they want first.
It's not up to me, it's up to them, but the fact is, is they've taken hostages.
Hey, they'll listen to me.
Let me go in, talk to Commander Cabral.
I'm his commanding officer, he'll do whatever I say.
It may be the only way to save them.
WADE: The lethal blow to the head on Terrence Lewis was administered after the hazing.
How long after? 12, 15 hours.
So, it's not due to the hazing? Unless Lewis threatened to tell somebody after the fact, and got killed later.
Yeah, there's still not enough there to let Commander Cabral off the hook.
Any idea what the murder weapon was? No, but I did find some curious details.
I found a sliver of wood in the boy's skull, not just any wood, but 200-year-old cedar.
Also, trace amounts of sulfur, charcoal, saltpeter.
That sounds like black gunpowder.
Black gunpowder, you mean, like from the Civil War? WALSH: Yeah.
Pride, what is it? Sebastian, if somebody swung one of these old rifles hard enough, could trace amounts of black gunpowder Get dislodged, and end up embedded in the skull? Absolutely.
Any idea where the missing rifle is, General? I never even noticed it was gone.
Who else has access to the office? Captain Dorsey.
Where is Dorsey? CABRAL: This is not a negotiation.
We don't have a choice, Lieutenant.
All I'm saying is maybe we should listen to them.
We didn't do anything wrong.
Lewis is dead because of us! We were ordered to haze him, just like we were ordered to do this.
We didn't kill Lewis any more than we killed JAG Noah.
You think anyone outside of here cares about that? Everything this place stands for is on the line.
Do you understand? We follow orders.
Period.
But following orders is what got us into this mess in the first place.
PRIDE: Rita! I'm sorry to say this, Dwayne, but I think this proves I was right about the cadets.
Actually, I think they're being set up.
I don't think any of the cadets killed Lewis or Noah.
Based on what? Have you seen Captain Dorsey? Dorsey, we just sent him inside.
Why? (door closes) Stand down.
You were supposed to contain the situation, Cadet.
Now I have to clean it up.
With me.
(urgent chatter, guns clicking) All I'm saying is, the situation may not be as it appears.
We think Commander Cabral's being set up by the man you just let inside.
Cabral is holding two of your own people hostage.
He's just following orders.
And so am I.
My job is clear, Agent Pride, and that's to defuse the situation any way I can.
MAN (over radio): Dugan? Excuse me.
RITA: This doesn't make any sense.
If you're right, and the boys are innocent, why do this? Why take hostages? The whole premise of reform here is to teach cadets to obey orders without question, to put the academy first.
Obviously, Dorsey took advantage of that.
Wait, you're saying Dorsey killed Noah and, and Lewis? Why? SEBASTIAN: Pride.
Talk to me.
The general got me access to Dorsey's personnel files.
Apparently, he applied to take over the academy after the last general died, but Walsh got it instead.
That's not motivation for murder.
Well, no.
But the main reason that he got passed over might be.
See, Dorsey had been reprimanded several times for abuse of authority, including ordering the hazing of cadets.
So things with Lewis went too far, they got out of hand, JAG Noah figured it out And he had to kill him, too.
Still doesn't explain why Cabral locked down the school.
No, it does.
It does, if he's following Dorsey's orders.
And if Dorsey's trying to make Max look guilty Where's Gregorio? PRIDE: We only got one shot at this.
Got it, Pride.
I just hope we have enough time.
Hey.
If you're innocent, if Max is innocent, we can prove it, But not like this.
Besides, even the military's not supposed to follow orders if they're illegal, or criminal hey, and neither are you.
Look, if you want to do what's right? What is wrong with you? We can stop this before it's too late.
You can stop this.
But please, let us go.
You are an embarrassment to the uniform.
This is your mess, Commander.
I was following your orders.
My orders were to protect the academy, not to put it at risk, which is exactly what you've done.
What the hell were you thinking? You're the one that started this.
You're the one that told me to haze Lewis, scare him straight.
But you went too far, didn't you? Lewis threatened to expose it, but that would've brought down the very institution that's kept you from spending the rest of your sorry-ass life in prison.
I didn't kill Lewis! But I had to! To protect the academy from the same mess.
What about JAG Noah? Also on you.
After he figured out what happened, tracked down Lewis's body, I had to do something to protect us all from your screwups! Loyalty above all else! Remember that? That's what this place stands for.
But that's something you obviously don't get.
You're a failure, Cabral, a failure to yourself, and this institution.
You should be ashamed of yourself! Do I have permission to fire? You think you got the balls? Go ahead, pull the trigger! Shoot me! No, but I do.
Move.
Do it! Federal agents! Don't move! Put your hands up! All clear, all clear.
Nice shot, Gregorio.
I knew you could do it.
See you when you get back down here.
Copy that.
Just out of curiosity, how'd you know that would work? That that was Dorsey's plan? I didn't, but I couldn't figure out what else he was gonna do.
Backed in the corner, knew we were onto him, assumed things would escalate.
So, in other words, it was just a hunch? I prefer âeducated guess.
â (exhales) (chuckles) (piano playing) GREGORIO: Still can't quite figure him out.
Figure out who? Pride? Yeah.
What's there to figure out? He's the man.
I think she's talking about his personal life.
Oh.
Yeah, but playing piano is his personal life.
Nah, there's got to be more to it than that.
He's such a good catch.
I mean, he should be hooked up with someone, no? Talking professional curiosity here, let's just be clear.
Look, King is not in a hurry to get together with anyone anytime soon.
SONJA: Yeah.
He's just happy being King.
SONJA: It's true.
Okay.
Well, like I said, he's a great catch, and it's just not natural.
You're just cranky that you lost the bet about Rita.
- Bingo.
- Exactly! I forgot.
- I'm cranky? I'm cranky? Yeah, you cranky.
Then why is she here? GREGORIO: Huh? I see I made an impression on you.
Oh, yeah? How's that? Lighter touch on the keys, less tense.
All right, you're pretty confident.
(chuckles) Uh, not so much.
Certainly not after I nearly caused a disaster.
You're being too hard on yourself.
Eh.
What else is new? I should've known better.
I should've remembered.
Never go up against one of your hunches.
Oh, I don't know, my way could've gone sideways, too.
Troubled history those kids had even before they get to the academy, hard not to think that where there's smoke, there's fire.
Well, certainly what Captain Dorsey was hoping to make everybody believe.
D.
A.
thinks he wasn't just trying to frame Max, but also make Walsh look bad so he could take over.
Almost brought down the academy instead.
Thanks for putting in a good word on their behalf.
Oh, it's the least I could do.
After all, those boys deserve a second chance.
Yeah, I agree with that.
(playing piano) Yeah, go ahead.
By the way (begins playing âIt Had to Be Youâ) Remember this one? No-- don't.
Please, don't go there.
What, are you scared? It had to be you It had to be you Uh, wrong key, though.
What? I wandered around Finally found somebody who That's perfect.
No, it's too low.
Could make me be true Could make me be blue Or even be glad Just to be sad thinking of you Yes! Some others I've seen There it is.
Okay.
Might never be mean May be right.
Might never be cross BOTH: Or try to be boss They wouldn't do (clears throat) BOTH: For nobody else Pay up.
Let's go.
With all your faults I love you still (chuckles) Thank you.
It had to be you (laughs) Too bad you don't take credit.
It had to be you.
(playing jazzy piano music) No, thanks, Hoyt.
School night, it's getting late.
Not my idea.
It's hers.
Apparently, you got a fan.
Been watching you play for a while now.
What do you want me to do? I'll handle it.
Thanks for the drink.
Thought you could use it.
Really? Why's that? Oh, seem a little tense.
You might want to lighten up on the keys.
Oh.
Music critic, huh? You play? No.
I used to sing a little, though.
Long time ago.
Why'd you stop? Lost my piano player.
By the way, I still haven't forgiven you.
For the record wasn't just me who ended it.
Besides, 25 years is a long time to hold a grudge.
26, but who's counting? (chuckles) I heard you moved back.
I wondered when we'd bump into each other.
Forgot nothing happens in this town without you knowing about it.
(chuckles) Yeah.
You look good, Dwayne.
(sighs) You, too, Rita.
By the way, sorry to hear about you and Lloyd.
Sorry to hear about you and Linda.
Divorce sucks, right? Yeah.
Sometimes you gotta just move on Don't get me wrong, I'm, uh, I'm glad to see you and all, but, uh buying me a drink at 1:00 in the morning after all these years? (chuckles) Everything all right? (exhales) No.
No, it's not.
No one else gonna love you like I do.
SEBASTIAN: That's it, I got to find a new mode of transportation.
I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm a moped guy through and through.
But the law of physics is not in my favor when there's a huge SUV riding right up my Glass.
Well, yeah, rhymes with âglassâ" but that's not what I was gonna say it was.
No, no, no.
I mean this glass.
Check it out.
This isn't another newbie hazing thing? Just look at it, please, will you? What do you see? Lipstick.
Looks like Pride had some company over here last night.
Female company.
Oh, you mean Pride? Lady time at work? Nah, I don't think so.
Hey, is coffee on? SEBASTIAN: Hey, Lasalle, tomorrow, do you think you can swing by and pick me up, too? I'm done with my moped, man.
GREGORIO: Excuse me.
Are you just gonna ignore this? Ignore what? Well, Gregorio seems to think that Pride had a date last night.
Yes.
Late night, home-cooked meal, couple of drinks, lipstick? Hello.
Doesn't even smell like alcohol.
Oh, come on.
Aren't you guys the least bit curious about this? No, 'cause whatever âthisâ is, it's not what you think.
Our King's not like that.
He wouldn't bring anybody to the office.
Like what? He lives upstairs.
You're still new, Gregorio, so you don't know.
You don't know.
You don't know.
SONJA: What we've learned is Pride is married to his work.
Period.
Okay.
All right.
$20 says I'm right.
ALL: You're on.
(knock at door) PRIDE: Got a case.
JAG lawyer Noah Sandler.
Prosecutes highly classified cases for the Navy.
He's gone missing.
For how long? The last time anybody heard from him was the night before last.
Called a fellow JAG.
Said he had something sensitive to discuss with her, but never showed.
Her? Reserve JAG Devereaux, also an A.
D.
A.
She trained Noah.
Gave him his start.
Knows he wouldn't have called if it wasn't important.
So she thinks something happened to him? Yeah, we both do.
Rita and I went to his GREGORIO: Rita? PRIDE: Sorry.
JAG Devereaux and I went to his apartment last night, but there were no signs of him or his car.
Well, still, it's only been a day and a half.
I mean, NOPD doesn't even take missing persons cases for what, 48 hours? Yeah, well, we're not NOPD.
And this isn't just anybody we're talking about here.
Sorry.
Look, I I admit there's nothing much to go on here yet, but I've known Rita a long time.
She's not one to panic easily.
She's concerned.
I told her we'd help.
A friend of yours is a friend of ours, King.
What's our next move? Only thing suspicious we found at JAG Noah's apartment was there was nothing on his computer.
Nothing? Like it had been erased? Yeah.
I want you and Patton to work on it.
Maybe see if you can restore what was on it.
Might give us some leads.
Christopher, Percy, deep dive Noah.
Credit card charges, phone records, surveillance cameras.
Anything that might help us trace his last known whereabouts.
You got it.
What can I do? You and I are going to Belle Chasse.
Okay.
See if we can figure out which, if any, of Noah's cases have something to do with his disappearance.
Classified cases-- do we have access? Yeah, we do, and Rita will meet us there to help us sort things out.
Okay, then.
Look forward to meeting this Rita.
Don't get me wrong.
If there's anything I've learned since I got here, is you have a definite nose for justice.
It's just, you know, unusual way of taking the case, is all.
What are you trying to get at, Gregorio? No, nothing.
I'm just saying, we usually start things off with an actual crime.
Phone call, a body.
But here, banking a lot on this Rita friend of yours.
You must have good reason to trust her instincts.
I do.
Oh.
Keep fishing, New York.
RITA: Thanks for doing this, Dwayne.
No thanks necessary.
Special Agent Tammy Gregorio, Assistant District Attorney, Reserve Naval Commander, JAG Corps Rita Devereaux.
Lot of titles, I know.
You can call me Rita.
Nice to meet you, Rita.
D.
A.
get us any access? Had to go back on active duty to get it, but yes.
Glad the uniform still fits.
It's been a while.
No, you look great.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Ladies? Yeah.
We find anything in Noah's case files that might help? No, nothing yet, unfortunately.
I've gone through all his current JAG caseload, but although sensitive, nothing stands out as suspicious.
What about his computer? Has that been erased, too? No, it seems to be intact.
His last entry was calendaring the meet he wanted to have with me tomorrow morning.
Home computer wiped, office not? If Noah's really missing, could be more of a personal nature than business.
Gregorio's right.
If there aren't any leads here, but there were at his apartment Look, you knew him well.
What did he do with his personal time? We really haven't had a chance to catch up since I moved back here a couple months ago.
Oh, you lived in New Orleans? Long time ago, way, way back when I first met Dwayne.
Looks like Noah was pretty involved with Fort MacArthur.
GREGORIO: What's Fort MacArthur? Private military academy outside the city.
Town has a long-standing history with the school.
Takes in troubled juvies with criminal records.
Place is their last shot at turning their lives around.
RITA: Just like it did for Noah.
Academy offered him structure and direction.
It's why he joined the Navy.
And why he's been volunteering there ever since.
He likes to give back.
A lot like you, actually.
GREGORIO: Looks like your friend was doing more than volunteering.
Student files, log books, leave requests, blueprints of the school's ground.
I mean, it almost feels like (phone rings) he was investigating something there.
I wonder what.
What you got, Sebastian? Okay.
We're on our way.
Uh, tell Christopher we'll meet them there.
Noah's computer was erased remotely, but they were able to trace the IP address to his laptop.
Call me.
Good or bad.
Promise.
Noah Sandler's vehicle.
Judging by the tire tracks, it sat here overnight.
Any sign of Noah? Not yet.
Any idea what he was doing all the way out here? Well, it could have been gator hunt.
Got the gear.
It's a popular spot, but you got to have courage.
Meaning? (sighs) Lake Verret's not the safest place to hunt.
PRIDE: It's pretty remote and dangerous.
Nobody usually comes out here alone.
Found the laptop, but it's been wiped clean, too.
And according to Sebastian, it was used to remotely erase Noah's home computer first.
Noah didn't come all the way out here to erase computers.
King.
Whoa.
(growling) Hyah.
Get back.
Hyah.
(growling) Hyah.
Get back.
Get back.
Hyah.
Yeah.
(hisses) Get back.
Hyah.
It's probably Noah.
Looks like he's been shot twice.
Which means our missing persons case just turned into a murder.
SEBASTIAN: Hey, Doc Wade call you yet? No, why? She just finished her prelim autopsy on JAG Noah.
Turns out you were right.
He was shot twice in the back.
Hunting accident? I don't think so.
It was a tight pattern, and both went right through the heart.
Kill shots.
Question is, who killed him and why? Looked like he drove out there by himself.
Someone lying in wait, hoping to make it look like a hunting accident? Yeah, how'd they know he'd even be out there? And why was he there? Calls your friend Rita, says he wants to discuss a sensitive case with her.
Well, it had to be connected to whatever case he wanted to talk to her about, right? And told her it was important.
Thing is, if Rita hadn't come to me when she did, probably never would have found Noah's body.
Gators would have made sure of that.
Was probably what the killer was hoping for.
You and Patton have any luck figuring out what was on Noah's computers before they got erased? Nada.
We even hacked into the cloud to check the data stream.
Which means whoever it was went through an awful lot of trouble to cover up whatever Noah was working on.
RITA: Any word? You said you would call.
I know.
But we just got back, and I I wanted to be sure first.
Sure of what? Good or bad, you wanted to know.
It's not good.
Noah was murdered, Rita.
He was shot.
What? How? Who? I don't know.
We just started the investigation.
I assume that that you've kept looking.
Any idea what Noah wanted to talk to you about yet? What was so important? I, uh I think it had something to do with Terrence Lewis.
He's one of the cadets that Noah was mentoring at the academy.
I started looking more into Noah's Fort MacArthur connections after you left.
What's so special about Lewis? Uh, Noah had requested the boy's juvenile criminal file, but JAGs can't access a minor's record without a court order.
But A.
D.
A.
s can, and you're thinking that, uh, he called you, hoping you could get him the files? Troubled kid, Terrence Lewis.
Assault, armed robbery, and it doesn't look like he got reformed at the academy, either.
Kept getting into trouble, both in and out of Fort MacArthur.
If Terrence Lewis knew Noah was investigating him He might have killed him so he couldn't? That's a stretch.
I'm just looking at the facts, Dwayne.
It's what I do.
And I'm sorry, but not every kid can be reformed.
And Lewis looks like he wasn't.
Violent background, access to weapons, and then Noah gets shot to death before we can even meet? If that's not probable cause, I don't know what is.
Don't want to rush to judgment here.
Especially when it comes to the kids at the academy.
Suspects are suspects, regardless of age.
Look, I know that Noah was your friend.
That's got nothing to do with this.
It does when you're not thinking straight 'cause you're loaded for bear.
(exhales) Might be the first argument I ever won with you.
I got a good team here, Rita.
They're good at their jobs.
Let us investigate Terrence Lewis and whatever connection the academy may or may not have had in this, and I promise we'll find out who killed Noah.
Okay.
But if you don't, I will.
(guns firing, drill commands shouted) (drums playing) Agent Pride? General Walsh.
Heard a lot about you.
It's nice to finally meet you.
PRIDE: You, too, General.
Special Agents Percy and Lasalle.
Welcome.
Hey, General.
Welcome.
Thank you.
DRILL SERGEANT: Atten-hut.
WALSH: So what brings NCIS to Fort MacArthur? Well, probably best to discuss in private.
Minors around, want to handle this as sensitively as possible.
Understood and appreciated.
Especially considering where most of our cadets come from.
Law tends to assume the worst about them.
Uh, General Sklahr, who is that? PRIDE: He was the man who practically founded this place.
You're familiar? Hard to grow up in this town and not be.
All the good he did, troubled kids he helped.
WALSH: He gave 'em a home, a second chance.
General Sklahr was the father figure most of these boys didn't have.
That's large shoes to fill.
Proud to have been appointed to do exactly that.
Although, easier said than done.
COMMANDING OFFICER: Halt! CADETS: The military live So, which of my boys is in trouble? Well, not sure any are yet.
That's why we're here.
Hoping for an assist.
We'd like to talk with one of your cadets, Terrence Lewis.
Well, so would I.
Private Lewis has been UA for three weeks now.
Wish I could say that was unusual.
LASALLE: Lewis go missing often? Unfortunately, yes.
We take pride here in reforming boys, teaching 'em to obey orders, how to commit to something larger than themselves.
But, we're not always successful and I'm afraid that includes Private Lewis.
You notify NOPD he was missing? They don't have the manpower to chase down runaways and juvies like Lewis aren't a high priority.
What's he done? Again, not sure, but, uh I'm sorry to say, JAG Noah Sandler has been murdered.
And Terrence Lewis is a person of interest.
(sighs) Noah, my God.
How, when? Last night.
And what we know now is: Noah was investigating Lewis.
And maybe even the academy.
Investigating? Noah never said anything to me about it and he was here all the time.
He mentored lots of boys, not just Private Lewis.
Is it all right if we speak with Lewis' commanding officer? Of course.
Uh Dorsey, come in here, please.
Sir? These are NCIS agents, Captain Dorsey.
They need to speak to Commander Cabral ASAP.
Yes, sir.
Right this way.
Agent Pride? This news of Noah's death is gonna hit the boys hard.
I'd rather they hear it from me, if that's all right with you.
Yes, sir.
(sighs) (door opens) What do we got, Loretta? I'm sorry, that was way too much like Pride.
That was awful.
God, I got to work on that.
I'll work on it, it's gonna be fine.
Stop trying so hard, Sebastian, you're doing fine.
I know, I know, I know, it's just still trying to find my NCIS way, I guess.
You know? Maybe I should keep the moped.
You here for an update? I am.
Yeah, inquiring minds want to know.
Especially Pride's.
Well, obviously, an intact body would have helped, but from the pattern of the cuts and abrasions I've seen, coupled with the lack of coagulation, it appears JAG Noah's body was dragged postmortem.
Because of Tick-Tock Croc? It's a Peter Pan reference.
Anyway, the alligator bite pattern didn't match the indicated direction of the cuts, so So the killer must have dragged Noah after he shot him, closer to the water.
Hoping the alligators would devour the evidence, yes.
(sighs) Doesn't really get us any closer to IDing the killer, though.
Is there any way that we can, uh, narrow down what type of gun was used? It was definitely an automatic rifle of some kind.
Based on the entry wound, probably military.
I can't be sure until you find me the projectiles.
Yeah, well, good luck with that, right? A high-powered rifle, bullets went right through the body, it's probably buried back in the bayou somewhere.
Mm-hmm.
Sounds like a field trip to me.
Yeah.
Wait, do you mean me? You-- you want me to go back out there to deadly gator-world? By myself? Tick-Tock Croc.
(sighs) All right.
I'll see you never.
(door opens) DORSEY: Platoon, atten-hut! Good afternoon, sir.
At ease, Commander.
Commander Cabral, these are NCIS agents.
They need to speak with you in private.
Of course, sir.
Cole, front and center.
Your command, Lieutenant.
Aye, sir.
Still can't wrap my head around how teaching juvies to shoot M16s helps reform them.
Well, it's not about that.
It teaches them responsibility.
At least this place gives them a chance.
Port arms! How can I be of assistance? I understand Terrence Lewis was in your squad, Commander? Is in my squad.
Yes, sir.
Although, currently, Private Lewis is UA, I know.
How well do you know him? General Walsh assigned him to my squad three months ago.
Hoped I could straighten him out.
How so? Permission to speak freely? We're just looking for answers.
However you can help.
Private Lewis was a difficult recruit.
The academy prides itself on strength through loyalty, following orders.
Lewis fought it every step of the way.
So I take it you and Lewis didn't get along very well.
Lewis didn't get along with anyone very well.
What about JAG Noah? JAG He's the best, he's always been there for us.
Lewis, too, but But what, son? Just a few weeks ago, JAG Noah tried to help Lewis with some stuff he was going through.
But Lewis got mad.
Violent, even.
Hit JAG Noah-- hard, too.
That's the last anyone ever saw of him.
(device beeping slowly) (loud growl) What the? (beeping) (beeping rapidly) Bingo.
Okay.
(beeping steadily) (beeping rapidly) Oh, my God! Judging by the rate of decomposition, I'd estimate the boy died about three weeks ago.
SEBASTIAN: Same time Lewis went UA.
Cause of death? WADE: Your missing cadet was obviously beaten.
Even after all this time, bruises on his face, arms, and chest are still evident.
Yeah, more interesting, though, is what was used to beat him.
Yes, we recovered the same substance found in the epidermis of the bruises-- lye, glycerin, potassium hydroxide I.
e.
, soap.
We even found trace amounts of it in Lewis' mouth.
Soap? Soap bashing.
A hazing technique the military has long condemned.
Except soap didn't break the boy's parietal bone.
The cause of death was a sharp blow to the back of the head, and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what was used.
Hazing gone too far? If so, JAG Noah may have been investigating Terrence Lewis as a victim, not a juvie.
Somehow figured out where the body had been dumped, went to Lake Verret to investigate, and then got shot by whoever killed Lewis.
Well, I hate to say it, but if more than one cadet really did haze Lewis, then it's hard to believe they're not responsible for both murders.
We're not gonna jump to conclusions here, okay? (phone beeping) We need to be sure.
Okay, Loretta, I need to know what exactly was used to kill Terrence Lewis.
On it.
PRIDE: Sebastian, get an ID on those bullets that killed JAG Noah.
I want to know what type of weapon they came from ASAP.
Copy that.
Where you going? Rita just texted.
I need to try and slow her down.
Send her up as soon as she gets here.
Max Cabral, assault with a deadly weapon.
William Cole, aggravated assault.
Jamal Povey, attempted rape.
Rita Tyler Wilson, armed robbery.
And the list goes on.
I unsealed every cadet's criminal record after I heard about what happened.
I know Noah believed in these boys, Dwayne.
I know you probably do, too.
But you can't tell me none of them are capable of murder.
You can't prejudge them from their past.
That's not fair.
That's what reform's all about.
This isn't about reform anymore.
This is about justice.
I agree, but all I'm saying is we don't know enough yet.
Well, we know enough to get a search and arrest warrant for the entire academy, which is exactly what I'm going to do.
And what if you're wrong, like you were yesterday, when you thought that Lewis killed Noah? Bring all those warrants, media follows, makes this headline news, and Fort MacArthur gets shut down.
Is that what you want? No! I want justice, and you should want that, too.
They're boys.
They're suspects! Look, I know everybody in this town loves you, Dwayne.
They always have because you always put them first.
Believe me, I know.
This isn't about us, Rita.
I know how you grew up.
I know how you want to give everyone, especially the underdogs, the benefit of the doubt, but sometimes they don't deserve it.
We don't know enough yet.
There's too much risk to those boys and to the academy.
So, Rita, please I disagree.
JAG Noah may be your jurisdiction, but Terrence Lewis is mine.
I'm getting the arrest warrants.
DRILL SERGEANT: Hut! (sighs) I don't believe this.
Hazing? Murder? WALSH: If any of this is true, I've lost total control of this school.
How certain are you of this? The bullets that killed Noah could have come from one of the academy's rifles, so we need to find out what is true if we have any hopes of containing the situation.
And to do that, we need to test your cadets' rifles for matches, and know which students were off-campus or on leave during both murders.
I'll get the logs.
(gunshots) Clear! Thank you guys for your cooperation.
Didn't know how you would act after finding out what happened to JAG Noah.
He'd be the first to counsel calm and tell us to follow orders, and that's what I'm doing.
Okay, whose rifle's up next? Commander Cabral's.
Let's have it.
(gunshots) I still don't understand, why are they checking our guns? I don't know.
Commander Cabral.
At ease.
General Walsh needs to see you, Commander.
It's about Private Lewis.
Fide, Honorem, Victoria.
Yes, sir.
Prep the squad for Code 18.
But Just do it! (gunshots) Christopher? What is it? I don't know, but I don't have a good feeling about this.
Something's definitely up over there.
One ID shows off premises at the time of both murders.
Dog tag 2476.
PRIDE: 247 Lieutenant Commander Max Cabral.
Max? Yeah, well, his rifle just matched the bullets that killed JAG Noah.
(alarm blaring) What's that? It's a lockdown.
But I didn't order it.
Whoa! What the hell is going on? I'm protecting the academy.
Hands up! (sirens wailing) (alarm blaring) Let's go, come on.
Down here.
Come on, let's go.
Stop looking back.
Keep going, come on! You don't know what you're doing, son.
You're not thinking straight.
What is this supposed to Sit down! Sit down! CABRAL: Pull their weapons.
(alarm buzzer continues) (cell phone ringing) You should answer that.
Talk to him.
No, don't.
Don't.
We're under strict orders.
Orders? Orders from who? Stand watch.
Go! Go! Go! (indistinct shouting) No answer? No.
It's weird.
Pride.
Anything? NOPD and LSP are evacuating the students.
SWAT's taking position.
Geez-- Dorsey! Why is SWAT here? Rita.
She called them.
It's procedure when serving felony warrants, and in this case, it's obviously warranted.
Where the hell are Christopher and Sonja? NOPD saw a squad of them take them into the mess hall at gunpoint.
What? Students were blocking the windows.
No one's answering.
Things are getting out of hand here, General.
Fast.
Dorsey! Sir.
You just spoke to Commander Cabral, what did he say? Well, he didn't say anything.
I just told him you wanted to talk to him about Lewis, then he triggered a lockdown.
You don't think Cabral had anything to do with this, do you? No, no, no.
Hold on.
All we know right now is that the bullets match Cabral's rifle.
That's it.
SEBASTIAN: Right.
Why would he hand us over his rifle when we asked for it, without even hesitating, if he knew it was gonna match the murder weapon? GREGORIO: He wouldn't have let you test it.
Get ahold of Loretta.
Okay, let's hope she's got some answers.
We're missing something here.
I'm still trying to establish communication and waiting on drones, stand by.
A.
D.
A.
Devereaux.
What's going on? What happened? The cadets have locked down the school.
Wait, because of the warrants? We never got a chance to serve them.
Now, they're ensconced, heavily armed and they've got hostages.
How long till HRT gets here? (sighs) 15 to 20 minutes, but based on the situation, we may not have that long.
I want scopes in every window and access Okay, look, I don't want this blowing up on us.
We need to find out what they want first.
It's not up to me, it's up to them, but the fact is, is they've taken hostages.
Hey, they'll listen to me.
Let me go in, talk to Commander Cabral.
I'm his commanding officer, he'll do whatever I say.
It may be the only way to save them.
WADE: The lethal blow to the head on Terrence Lewis was administered after the hazing.
How long after? 12, 15 hours.
So, it's not due to the hazing? Unless Lewis threatened to tell somebody after the fact, and got killed later.
Yeah, there's still not enough there to let Commander Cabral off the hook.
Any idea what the murder weapon was? No, but I did find some curious details.
I found a sliver of wood in the boy's skull, not just any wood, but 200-year-old cedar.
Also, trace amounts of sulfur, charcoal, saltpeter.
That sounds like black gunpowder.
Black gunpowder, you mean, like from the Civil War? WALSH: Yeah.
Pride, what is it? Sebastian, if somebody swung one of these old rifles hard enough, could trace amounts of black gunpowder Get dislodged, and end up embedded in the skull? Absolutely.
Any idea where the missing rifle is, General? I never even noticed it was gone.
Who else has access to the office? Captain Dorsey.
Where is Dorsey? CABRAL: This is not a negotiation.
We don't have a choice, Lieutenant.
All I'm saying is maybe we should listen to them.
We didn't do anything wrong.
Lewis is dead because of us! We were ordered to haze him, just like we were ordered to do this.
We didn't kill Lewis any more than we killed JAG Noah.
You think anyone outside of here cares about that? Everything this place stands for is on the line.
Do you understand? We follow orders.
Period.
But following orders is what got us into this mess in the first place.
PRIDE: Rita! I'm sorry to say this, Dwayne, but I think this proves I was right about the cadets.
Actually, I think they're being set up.
I don't think any of the cadets killed Lewis or Noah.
Based on what? Have you seen Captain Dorsey? Dorsey, we just sent him inside.
Why? (door closes) Stand down.
You were supposed to contain the situation, Cadet.
Now I have to clean it up.
With me.
(urgent chatter, guns clicking) All I'm saying is, the situation may not be as it appears.
We think Commander Cabral's being set up by the man you just let inside.
Cabral is holding two of your own people hostage.
He's just following orders.
And so am I.
My job is clear, Agent Pride, and that's to defuse the situation any way I can.
MAN (over radio): Dugan? Excuse me.
RITA: This doesn't make any sense.
If you're right, and the boys are innocent, why do this? Why take hostages? The whole premise of reform here is to teach cadets to obey orders without question, to put the academy first.
Obviously, Dorsey took advantage of that.
Wait, you're saying Dorsey killed Noah and, and Lewis? Why? SEBASTIAN: Pride.
Talk to me.
The general got me access to Dorsey's personnel files.
Apparently, he applied to take over the academy after the last general died, but Walsh got it instead.
That's not motivation for murder.
Well, no.
But the main reason that he got passed over might be.
See, Dorsey had been reprimanded several times for abuse of authority, including ordering the hazing of cadets.
So things with Lewis went too far, they got out of hand, JAG Noah figured it out And he had to kill him, too.
Still doesn't explain why Cabral locked down the school.
No, it does.
It does, if he's following Dorsey's orders.
And if Dorsey's trying to make Max look guilty Where's Gregorio? PRIDE: We only got one shot at this.
Got it, Pride.
I just hope we have enough time.
Hey.
If you're innocent, if Max is innocent, we can prove it, But not like this.
Besides, even the military's not supposed to follow orders if they're illegal, or criminal hey, and neither are you.
Look, if you want to do what's right? What is wrong with you? We can stop this before it's too late.
You can stop this.
But please, let us go.
You are an embarrassment to the uniform.
This is your mess, Commander.
I was following your orders.
My orders were to protect the academy, not to put it at risk, which is exactly what you've done.
What the hell were you thinking? You're the one that started this.
You're the one that told me to haze Lewis, scare him straight.
But you went too far, didn't you? Lewis threatened to expose it, but that would've brought down the very institution that's kept you from spending the rest of your sorry-ass life in prison.
I didn't kill Lewis! But I had to! To protect the academy from the same mess.
What about JAG Noah? Also on you.
After he figured out what happened, tracked down Lewis's body, I had to do something to protect us all from your screwups! Loyalty above all else! Remember that? That's what this place stands for.
But that's something you obviously don't get.
You're a failure, Cabral, a failure to yourself, and this institution.
You should be ashamed of yourself! Do I have permission to fire? You think you got the balls? Go ahead, pull the trigger! Shoot me! No, but I do.
Move.
Do it! Federal agents! Don't move! Put your hands up! All clear, all clear.
Nice shot, Gregorio.
I knew you could do it.
See you when you get back down here.
Copy that.
Just out of curiosity, how'd you know that would work? That that was Dorsey's plan? I didn't, but I couldn't figure out what else he was gonna do.
Backed in the corner, knew we were onto him, assumed things would escalate.
So, in other words, it was just a hunch? I prefer âeducated guess.
â (exhales) (chuckles) (piano playing) GREGORIO: Still can't quite figure him out.
Figure out who? Pride? Yeah.
What's there to figure out? He's the man.
I think she's talking about his personal life.
Oh.
Yeah, but playing piano is his personal life.
Nah, there's got to be more to it than that.
He's such a good catch.
I mean, he should be hooked up with someone, no? Talking professional curiosity here, let's just be clear.
Look, King is not in a hurry to get together with anyone anytime soon.
SONJA: Yeah.
He's just happy being King.
SONJA: It's true.
Okay.
Well, like I said, he's a great catch, and it's just not natural.
You're just cranky that you lost the bet about Rita.
- Bingo.
- Exactly! I forgot.
- I'm cranky? I'm cranky? Yeah, you cranky.
Then why is she here? GREGORIO: Huh? I see I made an impression on you.
Oh, yeah? How's that? Lighter touch on the keys, less tense.
All right, you're pretty confident.
(chuckles) Uh, not so much.
Certainly not after I nearly caused a disaster.
You're being too hard on yourself.
Eh.
What else is new? I should've known better.
I should've remembered.
Never go up against one of your hunches.
Oh, I don't know, my way could've gone sideways, too.
Troubled history those kids had even before they get to the academy, hard not to think that where there's smoke, there's fire.
Well, certainly what Captain Dorsey was hoping to make everybody believe.
D.
A.
thinks he wasn't just trying to frame Max, but also make Walsh look bad so he could take over.
Almost brought down the academy instead.
Thanks for putting in a good word on their behalf.
Oh, it's the least I could do.
After all, those boys deserve a second chance.
Yeah, I agree with that.
(playing piano) Yeah, go ahead.
By the way (begins playing âIt Had to Be Youâ) Remember this one? No-- don't.
Please, don't go there.
What, are you scared? It had to be you It had to be you Uh, wrong key, though.
What? I wandered around Finally found somebody who That's perfect.
No, it's too low.
Could make me be true Could make me be blue Or even be glad Just to be sad thinking of you Yes! Some others I've seen There it is.
Okay.
Might never be mean May be right.
Might never be cross BOTH: Or try to be boss They wouldn't do (clears throat) BOTH: For nobody else Pay up.
Let's go.
With all your faults I love you still (chuckles) Thank you.
It had to be you (laughs) Too bad you don't take credit.
It had to be you.