NCIS s04e18 Episode Script

- Corporal Liam Michael O'Neill.
That's a good Irish name.
I'm from Scotland, myself.
I hope you won't hold that against me.
Too young for us to be meeting on this chilly morning.
United States Marine Corps; Found facedown in a snowdrift in Montrose Park?! Now, how did you end up there at 6:00 in the morning? Not stumbling home from a big night out, I trust.
Now, that would be a tragic waste of a young life.
This is the place where death rejoices in teaching the living.
Liam, what can you teach us? Oh.
A wee bump.
Well, perhaps I spoke too soon.
Perhaps you weren't the architect of your own destruction.
There is nothing lucky about waking up during your own autopsy, probie.
Least you know you're not dead.
Ducky's the one who's lucky.
Why is Ducky lucky? Well, well, look who's finally here.
Ooh! Like you've never been late, left early, or gone mysteriously missing? Oh, no.
That's my point exactly.
Tardiness is my middle name.
In fact, it's expected of me.
You, on the other hand, have become the poster girl for punctuality.
Late night? Early morning.
Run.
New route.
Took longer than I expected.
Will run faster tomorrow.
Now, why is Ducky lucky? We found a dead man walking.
I've had enough of dead men walking.
Uh, this one was really dead.
Ducky was about to start the autopsy, and he came back to life.
Like Lazarus.
No, like Liam.
Liam O'Neill.
Corporal.
He was a communication specialist attached to a Marine supply division combat support hospital in Baghdad.
On a 15-day leave from his unit in Iraq.
Third tour.
Hardcore Marine.
Due to fly back to Baghdad day after tomorrow.
How does a man who is not dead end up on Ducky's autopsy table? It was the Metro police.
They reported a dead man, not an unconscious one.
You know, there's an old paramedic's saying.
They're not dead until they're wormed and dead.
Can't really blame them.
Facedown in a snowdrift, core temperature 20 degrees below normal.
No discernible heartbeat.
Could have been there for hours.
It's not an unreasonable conclusion, under the circumstances.
CPR.
By their estimation, he was long dead.
CPR is for the recent dead.
Never crossed their minds.
You know, the physiology is very interesting.
Faced with imminent death, the brain begins to switch off the lights to preserve the last flicker of life and hope.
Prognosis? Well, children have been known to make a full recovery after being pulled from freezing rivers, ooh, two hours after they apparently drowned.
Adults are rarely so lucky.
He He'll be on a ventilato and the hospital will constantly check his condition.
Got nothing for us here, Duck.
Oh, on the contrary.
He had a lump on his left temporal area.
And bruising on the back and sides of his neck.
He didn't fall into that snowdrift.
No, he was strucked on the side of the head.
His face was pushed into the snow, violently held by his neck and the back of the head.
Probably until he stopped thrashing.
How's that for starters? Not much to see.
I wouldn't say that.
McGEE: He sure calls her a lot.
Oh, well, she calls him more often than he calls her.
Meaning? Commitment issues.
She is; he's not.
What time? Okay, you gonna give me a clue about this mystery date? Jeanne, "gym shoes" is not a clue.
"Naked" is a clue.
You want me naked? All right.
You don't want to see me naked? All right.
I'll bring the gym shoes.
Bye.
Glad you could join us.
Well, there's not much to see.
Appreciate it.
Corporal O'Neill was wearing a light shirt and no jacket.
What's that tell you, McGee? Jacket was stolen? Or he left it close by.
Or someplace warm.
There's no houses nearby.
Service road's close, though.
Car.
Silver '97 Mustang.
License plate Delta Zulu-one-five Lima-three-seven.
McGEE: Bingo on the jacket.
McGEE: Motive wasn't robbery.
Sequentially-numbered bills.
Freshly minted - $500.
Heater is set high, ignition is on.
Must have sat there with the engine running.
Guess he left in a hurry.
Well, he didn't leave fast enough.
Good afternoon, Gibbs.
Well, afternoon, Abs.
How'd you know it was me? Because I found something, and whenever I find something, you always know, and then you come see me.
I do? Well, yeah.
If I didn't, then you wouldn't be here.
Haven't you been listening? You found what, Abs? This.
In his left trouser pocket.
- It's organic.
- Illegal? We could smoke it and find out.
Kidding.
I'm gonna let the mass spec smoke that, but I also found this a receipt from a restaurant in Baghdad.
Corporal's on his third tour, Abs.
But he's been on leave for three weeks, so what was he doing in Baghdad three days ago? See the date? I think he had a falafel.
That's a good catch, Abby.
Do you think it's ESP? I mean, that you always know when I find something? And if it is ESP, are you reading my mind, or am I sending you some sort of weird brain thoughts out of my head and into yours? Come back, Gibbs.
Come back Gibbs.
Boss, we got it.
Cross-checked it with ICE.
O'Neill left the country eight days ago, using his own passport.
He was traveling as a private citizen.
Arrived back in the country two days ago.
A record of travel? McGEE:Direct to Frankfurt, then on to Baghdad.
Came back the same way.
Wouldn't call Baghdad one of your top ten tourist destinations.
Yeah, especially if you've just come from there and you're going back.
And people are shooting at you.
Or trying to blow you up.
Airline? Uh, didn't fly commercial.
He flew there and back with an air freight company called -Fast Flight- Operates out of a warehouse near Dulles airport.
Address.
Ziva.
The landing fees are a rip-off.
They Damascus, then.
Well, what about Cairo? Look, you're just gonna have to find me a better gas station right now, or I'm gonna have to push that damn plane all the way home.
MAN I'll find you something, Taylor, don't sweat it.
You do that.
Who are you? Federal agents.
NTSB? NCIS.
Right.
Gotta love those acronyms.
Maybe that's what this company needs.
Huh? An acronym.
Bad day, Mr.
Taylor? Guess that depends on what you want.
Excuse me.
Liam O'Neill? You flew him to Baghdad and back this week.
All legal.
Had a passport, cleared Customs, filed the paperwork.
Why did he fly with you? Fast Flight.
Oh.
FF - there's an acronym for you.
Stands for Free Flights.
You flew him free of charge? Ex-Royal Air Force, doing a good deed for a serving Marine.
Don't get a lot of people hitching a ride to Baghdad.
Why was he going to Baghdad? Uh, said he was on leave.
He just found out his unit had been hit.
One of his buddies was wounded.
Wanted to see him.
What's he done? Someone tried to kill him.
Is he gonna be okay? Maybe.
Something you want to add? Some guys met him outside Baghdad International Airport.
What guys? Yes? B.
A.
G.
's.
"Bad Ass Guys.
" With guns.
Plenty of them in Baghdad.
You ask him about it on the flight home? Wasn't very talkative.
His buddy didn't make it.
Someone's with Corporal O'Neill at the hospital.
- Next of kin? He has no next of kin.
Hello, probie.
Hello, Mike.
You know this Marine? He's my son Here you go.
Black, no sugar.
Thanks.
You never told me you had a son.
Didn't find out till a couple of years ago.
Got a phone call one day.
It was him.
He tracked me down.
We met, had a few beers.
He was just about to deploy.
Didn't hear from him again until a couple of days ago.
Said he was in trouble.
What kind of trouble? Didn't say.
You wouldn't know it now, but he's got his mother's hair.
Used to blow across her face and get in her eyes.
She'd get so pissed and I'd laugh.
She died a few years ago.
We were only together six months.
Didn't even know she was pregnant when she left.
What do the doctors say? What doctors always say.
Not much that makes any sense.
Doing tests.
Brainwaves and reflexes, all that neurological stuff.
You know who did this, probie? Not yet.
Guess you wouldn't tell me if you did.
No.
Need a place to stay tonight, Mike? Might just stay here with my boy.
Are there any hope? As I was just explaining to your colleague, the patient is unresponsive to external stimulin.
His name is Corporal O'Neill.
Corporal O'Neill.
There's still more testing to do, which will determine if there is any cerebral circulation present, but at this point, it would be wrong to offer any hope.
When will you know for certain? Tomorrow.
Thank you.
Sure.
He knows? He knew.
Didn't I say gym shoes? TONY Ah, yeah.
Well, you know me, always following doctor's orders.
You ever climb one of these before? No.
Nervous? Should I be? - Well, it's a long way up.
Ah, yes, it is, and once you're up, it's a long way down.
Oh, you're all strapped in.
You'll be fine.
Oh.
Can you please let that go? Okay.
Thank you.
I'll be climbing beside you.
Let me just Okay.
Mm - good look for you.
Okay Is this going to be a race? No Speed climbing is for the experts.
Experts like you.
When you're ready.
Ha Okay.
Ha, ha, ha.
So what do I get if I beat you to the top? You get to tell me you love me.
And if I don't beat you? You still get to tell me you love me.
So, is that followed by other physical pursuits? If you're not too tired.
Oh I'm never too tired.
Hey, wait.
Cheater! You told me you'd never climbed before.
No, I said I'd never climbed one of these before- ha-hee.
Oh, I'm gonna beat you.
And I'm there.
- You're good.
- You're better.
How can I ever trust you again? Where did you learn to climb? There was this big, old pine tree in my backyard.
It was about three times higher than we are now, and I used to climb it all the way to the tippity-top.
One day, I refused to come down.
And my mom called the fire department.
Why didn't you want to come down? The view was too beautiful.
Just like it is now.
You beat me to the top.
You know what that means.
Other physical pursuits? Last one down's on top.
It's just so sad, you know? You have a son you never knew about for all those years, and then right when you find out ugh It doesn't seem fair.
Maybe you should call all your old girlfriends, you know, just to check.
That won't take long.
What I mean is, uh, I can't imagine any of them having a baby without telling me.
Now, Tony, on the other hand Last ten numbers called and received.
And voice mail.
Great.
Voice mail's protected by a PIN number.
That's going to take some time.
Okay a bunch of international calls Prefix 964 that's Iraq's country code.
Five calls back and forth to Fast Flight Second-to-last dialed and second-to-last received are the same number.
the name of "Pagoda Investments.
" Well, looks like we might have a money trail.
.
Company is owned by Jalil Shaloub.
Known to his friends and enemies as "Jimmy.
" Small-time investment advisor, big-time loan shark.
Also on Homeland Security's watch list.
Iraqi father, Lebanese mother.
Moved here after the first Gulf War.
Any active surveillance? None that anyone is admitting to.
Shaloub channels money into a Beirut investment bank, which may or may not support Hezbollah.
Hezbollah? He walks a dangerous path.
What's the connection with Corporal O'Neill? Could be software, hardware, troop deployments, timetables O'Neil could be a seller.
Or a buyer.
Either way, he keeps bad company.
Think Franks knows? Know him, Mr.
Shaloub? Marine Corporal Liam O'Neill.
He came to see me.
When? Two days ago.
About? What all of my clients come to see me about, Agent Gibbs: Money.
Did you give him any? No, I decided he was too risky a proposition.
What interest rate do you charge? Why? Do you need a loan? Fifty percent? One hundred percent? Two hundred percent? I would say the risk is theirs.
How much did Corporal O'Neill want? $25,000.
For? My policy is not to ask.
Maybe you didn't have to We met, we drank coffee, we did not do business.
He told me nothing about why he needed the money.
How soon did he need it? Immediately.
- Cash? - Of course.
All my clients prefer cash.
Even the ones in Beirut and Baghdad? I'm sorry I can't be more helpful.
From all that questions you are asking, I can only assume that Corporal O'Neill is involved in some criminal activity, Agent Gibbs.
You mean like you? If you believed that, Officer David, we would be meeting in your office, not mine.
There's someone you can call? - Might have a friend in Tela Aviv.
- Make it happen, Ziva.
Shared intelligence.
I'd settle for any.
Okay, thanks.
- McGee! Turn over a rock on this guy: Company records, IRS, bank details.
I'll check the Homeland Security file.
What am I looking for? You'll know it when you see it.
How is he? They're done testing.
Liam mixed up with him? McGee.
Who is here? I can't say.
Whatever he's done, good or bad, he's still my boy.
Nothing else I can tell you.
It's not why I'm here.
That's everything, apart from his clothing and his car.
We're still checking these for prints.
This belonged to his mother.
Her religion and mine.
War and peace.
Can you release these? I need one more thing, probie.
- A Witness.
That's okay.
Been waiting for you, Gibbs.
You got something? I do.
And you're not gonna like it.
The print on the left was lifted from inside Liam's car.
The print on the right is the match from our database.
Franks was in the car, Gibbs.
How much did Franks know? Not enough to save his son.
Maybe not much at all.
- You ever tell your dad what you were up to, probie? - Every day.
Wrong person to ask.
Liam flew to Baghdad, met some bad guys, flew back, and someone tried to kill him.
Succeeded.
Deal gone wrong, maybe? Dealing what? He was a communications specialist.
Equipment, software, secrets.
Only had limited access; didn't know any secrets.
Yeah.
Gibbs.
Any news for me, probie? Could be, Mike.
Come on in; I'll brief you.
Why don't you come to me.
Where? Fourth and H; by the southeast freeway.
I'll be right there.
Need any backup, boss? Friend, not foe, DiNozzo.
We hope.
Hey, you've reached Jeanne.
Leave a message.
Hey, this is your friendly neighborhood stalker leaving his third message of the day.
Hope everything's okay.
Call me when you can.
Ciao.
Did she give you the cold elbow? Shoulder.
And no, she has very warm shoulders to me.
You two fighting? We don't fight.
Well, maybe she does and you haven't even noticed.
Or maybe you said something that hurt her, or maybe you said nothing when you should have said something.
Mmm.
She's just busy.
High-stress job.
Not a lot of time for phone calls.
Do you mind? - Of course.
- Thanks.
Hi, I'm trying to contact Dr.
Jeanne Benoit.
I was wondering if oh, I'm sorry, she's already left for the day.
She has?! - Yes, - What time? About an hour ago? - Would you like to leave a message? - No, no message.
- Okay, then - I'll call her at home, thanks.
You're welcome.
Found your prints in his car, Mike.
Figured you probably would.
You should have told me you saw him.
Didn't want you asking me too many questions.
About? What my son was involved in.
Are you gonna tell me? I saw him a couple of days ago.
He needed money.
Just about cleaned me out.
But I got it for him.
$25,000.
He took $500, asked me to hold the rest.
Said it was safer that way.
Said he would call me when he needed it.
Never called.
What's this about? Wouldn't tell me.
He wouldn't tell you, or you won't tell me?! We're getting more alike, you and me, probie.
Even feeling the same pain.
I don't know how you didn't go crazy when you lost your little girl.
Maybe you did for a while.
Maybe you still are.
.
I just know I got to do what's right for my boy.
I owe him that.
Let me handle it.
You got to be somewhere? I want the body sent to my place in Mexico when Ducky's done with it.
Can you arrange that for me? I don't want to have to come after you, Mike.
Then don't.
Hey.
Hey back.
I left some messages.
I was getting kind of worried.
I'm fine.
I'm not getting that "I'm fine" feeling from you, Jeanne.
I was gonna bring you flowers.
Where are they? Uh, I didn't want to stop.
big mistake.
Jeanne, this is about, uh about what I didn't say when I beat you to the top, right? I wanted to believe that, uh you didn't understand what I was saying.
I wanted to give you a second chance.
And a third chance, and a fourth chance.
I've said it now, Tony, and you never have.
Well, that's not true.
"Love you," after other physical pursuits is not the same as "I love you.
" And please, don't insult either of us by saying it now.
Even if I mean it? I don't think you know if you mean it.
I love you.
Now you need to figure out if you feel the same way.
I don't want to hurt you.
Then just go now and figure out what it is that you want for us.
Ziva Talk to your friend yet? Shaloub is a person of interest, but that is all.
No known terrorist links.
More concerned with money than ideology.
That's Mike Franks' rental.
Put out a BOLO on it.
If he has been here, he's probably booked into a hotel or motel.
Start checking.
McGee.
I'm still trying to crack Liam's voice mail security code, so matter of time.
Something we don't have.
DiNozzo.
Boss.
You help Ziva.
Hey.
Not good? Not good.
Gibbs! u shouldn't be here! I don't have anything for you, and I didn't send out any "calling Gibbs" vibes.
I'm not psychic, Abs.
Just checking.
Did Mike try to get any information about the case? I barely saw him.
Hasn't phoned? No.
You thought he might try to sneak a peek at the evidence? I would've.
Well, then why didn't he? Seeing as you two are so much alike.
Peas in a pod, Gibbs.
Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum.
Whoa.
Gibbs you knew before I knew it knew.
Before it knew it knew! green compound we found in Corporal O'Neill's pants pocket.
That's what I was gonna call you about.
This is getting really spooky.
Lawsonia inermis.
More commonly known as Henna.
It's used in bodyart, mostly in the middle-east It's beautiful, but it doesn't last, not like a real tattoo.
- Other uses? Hair dye.
But the tattoos are really cool.
They have a lot of intricate patterns and shadings.
I should probably get one.
What do you think? Don't answer out loud.
Just think it.
I'll take that as a no.
Well, here we are again, dear boy.
Not the outcome for which either of us had hoped.
No more miracles, just answers.
You're 2 hours early, Jethro.
I'm only just beginning.
Any tattoos, Ducky? Ah, a direct query, demanding a direct response, which, in this case, is a direct No.
Somewhat surprising for a young Marine.
Autopsy.
Is Gibbs with you, by any chance? Yes, he is.
- Tell him I cracked the code, okay? - Indeed.
Timothy says to tell you that he's cracked the code, whatever that may mean.
No peace, even for the dead.
Just wanted to make sure There's only one message in Liam's in box.
Hey, buddy, your package arrives at the end of the week.
You want to pick it up, the price just doubled.
Nick Taylor.
the last call Liam made was to Fast-Flight Maybe it was to arrange a meeting.
They meet, they argue, they fight.
Logged into FAA, Gibbs.
Fast Flight FF-716 freight service from Baghdad.
We have a problem.
It landed an hour and a half ago.
Clear! clear! Somebody beat us to it.
Multiple victims.
Multiple wounds.
- Pray and spray.
Possibly.
But dead only a matter of 15 or Jethro, do you think? I'm not speculating, Duck.
I want evidence.
Gibbs blankets, pillows, water bottles.
All the comforts of home.
Human cargo.
Looks to be three of everything.
But only two bodies, assuming Taylor was already here at the office.
One got away.
- The shooter? - Maybe.
Boss.
Arabic.
It's a Koran.
The FAA says all the paperwork was in order when the flight landed.
- customs? Only checked the cargo manifest.
No X -ray, no physical search of air containers.
It was unloaded and taken straight to the warehouse Air crew? Oblivious.
Still at the airport overseeing an engine inspection.
Got an I.
D.
on the other two victims here.
Peter Thomas McLean, Private, United States Army.
Reported missing three weeks ago from the U.
S.
Army base at Wuerzburg,near Frankfurt.
Missing? Deserted.
Unit was shipped to Iraq two days after he disappeared.
Second victim is Franz Bernhard Schuler.
He's a German national wanted by Interpol for murder killed a cop.
Believed to be trying to flee Europe for the United States.
Made it.
Almost.
Taylor was running a passenger service for bad guys.
Wonder how much the tickets were? Too much.
Which leads us to passenger number three.
.
Muslim and missing.
- Terrorist? - Might explain all the dead bodies.
Left to no one alive to identify him.
Or maybe just a frightened witness who got away.
Anything? Phone company can't track him.
Franks must have his cell phone off.
He knows we'd be trying to get ahold of him.
McGee.
This is Metro.
We have a hit on your BOLO.
Where? 2615 Linden.
Got it.
Thank you.
Metro police just found Franks' car.
We could fall back and set up surveillance.
It's too late.
Must be a dozen hotels within a mile of here, boss.
Parked and walked? That's what I'd do.
I'll start checking them as soon as we get back.
Oh, boy.
Recently fired.
Think he did it? Mike Franks is a very capable man.
That extend to murder? Revenge.
Taylor killed his son.
Still murder.
DiNozzo.
Uh, 17 hotels and motels within 15 minutes walk of where we found the car.
I'm e-mailing the photo of Franks now.
Glock? Registered to Nick Taylor.
He was a licensed shooter.
McGee, you found anything under that rock yet? - Still working, boss.
- IRS? Clean bill of health.
Shaloub pays his taxes, files his returns.
Pagoda's got a modest turnover.
The more you look,the less you see.
Gotta hide his money somewhere, probie.
No association with any charities? I know where you're headed, but he's not making any big donations to suspect charities.
Travel? In and out of the country seven times over the last four months which is odd, 'cause this guy's meticulous with his tax returns.
He lists all his deductions.
All that travel and he didn't claim it as a business expense.
Well, someone must have been paying for him.
Or he wasn't paying at all.
Check when and where he flew, against FAA records.
All that's going to tell us is what airline he flew with.
Typing.
It's the same airline every time: Fast Flight.
Go get him.
Sometimes I fly Fast Flight instead of a scheduled commercial flight.
I wasn't breaking the law, Agent Gibbs, or any FAA regulations.
Fast Flight is only registered to carry freight, not passengers.
I wasn't a paying passenger.
Taylor was doing you a favor? Let me tell you what you clearly don't know, Agent Gibbs.
I helped finance Fast Flight.
What you might call a silent partner.
Not one of my wiser investment decisions.
When? How much? The initial outlay was half a million dollars - I pumped in as much again in the last six months.
Free flights to Europe were the only return I was seeing on my money.
The company's failing.
Taylor is incompetent.
Was.
Something's happened? You should know.
You were there.
Where? The warehouse.
Three men shot dead including Taylor.
I had nothing to do with this.
Why'd you do it? I just told you I didn't.
Because Taylor was smuggling people into the country and didn't tell you? No Or you just found out and wanted to cut of the action? No! I had nothing to do with this, Agent Gibbs.
You got the wrong man.
What's this white stuff? Calcium oxide.
Lime?! Did you use it to dust for prints? No.
It was already there.
There were no prints.
It must have been wiped.
So how'd the lime get on here? Same way the crystalline silica did.
And it wasn't just on the grip, it was in the slide action.
I had to clean it off before I could fire it.
Ooh.
Bad? Bad.
How bad? The striations on the bullets match.
The Glock found in Mike Franks' car, it's the murder weapon.
Thanks.
Found Franks, boss.
Booked into a hotel 15 minutes.
Walked from where we found the car.
False name, paid cash, manager I.
D.
'd him from the photo I e-mailed.
Hotel's at 1127 Church Avenue.
Franks is still there.
Will we bring him in? It's glass, boss.
Crystalline silica and calcium oxide.
used in glassmaking.
It was all over the Glock, even in the slide action.
Abby had to clean it before she could fire it.
Anyway, there is a glass manufacturer right next to the Fast Flight warehouse.
Agent Gibbs Take off your shoes.
What?! Need to look at your shoes.
Wallet.
Sequential serial numbers.
Where's the rest? You think you can intimidate me, Agent Gibbs? McGee? Looks like traces of calcium oxide and crystalline silica in the treads.
It's used in glass manufacture.
Hollander Glass Company's right next door to Fast Flight.
You ever notice all that white stuff on the ground behind the back of their building? That is crystalline silica and calcium oxide.
You got it on your shoes when you dumped this into the Dumpster behind their building.
You should have left it at the scene.
It wasn't me.
I got a witness! Hope we got a witness.
If we can find 'em.
I had nothing to do with the murder of that Marine.
Taylor was out of control trying to cash flow his business by people-smuggling.
He wouldn't let them leave because he wanted more money.
And then he pulled that gun on me.
I took it off him.
I was defending myself.
What about the other two? Hey.
We got him.
Knew you'd figure it out eventually, probie.
Unfinished business, that why you went there? I owed him that.
Paid the rest of the cash, picked up the package.
Came back to the hotel.
But you went back again, didn't you, Mike? Shaloub was already there.
I heard the shots.
I saw him come out of the building in a panic.
I saw him wipe the weapon and toss it over into the Dumpster.
You were going to plant it in his car and give me a call? That was the idea, but you found my rental and I didn't get a chance.
Well, you were a witness.
You didn't need to do that unless you had something to hide, Mike.
She's from Mexico.
We left in a bit of a hurry.
They were going to be married.
Her family in Baghdad said that she shamed them.
She's been in hiding for six months.
He was desperate to get her out.
I don't think any of this is relevant to your case, probie.
I guess not, Mike.