NCIS s04e23 Episode Script
Trojan Horse
These Marines sure take this stuff seriously.
Might as well get comfortable; this could take some time.
Check the ID, check the trunk.
No dogs.
Hate dogs.
Dogs are a pain in the ass.
Never met a dog that didn't want to try to bite me.
Looking for bombs or bin Laden, I guess.
Clear.
Finally.
Proceed.
Good morning, sir.
- Photo ID and pop the trunk, please.
- Sure thing.
Drop off? Guy says he wants to see someone at NCIS.
Clear.
Lower the window, please, sir.
Hey, buddy, lady needs to see some ID.
Photo ID, please, sir.
Sir? Step out of the vehicle, please.
These files have to be reviewed by Friday.
I'll get to them.
Tomorrow's Friday.
Had a wife like you once, Cynthia.
- I divorced her.
- Beat her to it, did you? You didn't read it.
Scoletti case.
I know the case agent.
Jeff Gillman.
He's a good man.
Director doesn't want Justice not going to trial because of a procedural error.
Well, then the Director should be here instead of shopping in Paris all week.
An Interpol antiterrorist conference isn't shopping.
Yeah.
You know him, too? Yep.
Don't worry.
Justice has its own procedural problems.
Who's Special Agent Grisham? Transferred in from San Diego.
Hollywood Special Agent.
- Rejected.
- You have to give a reason.
It's her private line.
Hello, Cynthia.
Cynthia? No Jethro.
I should have recognized the heavy breathing.
Is the Agency intact? I cut it up into small bitsy pieces and sold it to the three-letter boys.
I take it walking my heels has presented a challenge.
Well, I accepted some speaking requests for you.
Which speaking requests? Women for Women, St.
Paul, Minnesota chapter.
The eighth grade class of Hondo Middle School in Hondo, Texas.
The teacher, she's an admirer.
Society of Preservation for Barbershop Quartets.
You're not serious, Jethro.
Well, about the barbershop quartets, no, no, I'm not.
But I did accept six, seven eight, nine others for you.
- Put Cynthia on.
- Hey, how's the frog legs? You always enjoyed them sauted in butter.
Cynthia.
Now! Yes, Director.
Tell me you didn't send out acceptances for speaking engagements.
Of course not, Director.
Thank you, Cynthia.
You have just earned yourself a Hermes scarf.
Thank you, Director.
C'était un grand plaisir, madame.
Au revoir.
Put him back on.
Yes? Is there any serious business I should know about? Well, the Buy America toilet paper doesn't fit the metric fixtures, and we got a truck She hang up on me.
Shocking.
You call back to apologize? I don't know what you heard, boss, but I was not the one who started that pool.
What pool is that, DiNozzo? - On the case.
- What case? "There's a dead body in the taxi at the main gate" case.
I'll be right there.
The case files? Leave them on my desk.
They are on your desk.
It's not often we get to walk to a crime scene, if this is a crime scene.
There's no blood, no bullet holes, no knife punctures, no obvious signs of bruising, no ligiture marks, no petechial hemorrhaging on the eye or eyelid.
Natural causes? There's nothing natural about a man of his age keeling over in a taxicab.
Maybe he died of embarrassment when he couldn't pay the cab fare.
Alas, death by embarrassment is not a certifiable cause, however intriguing the notion.
Excuse me, Ducky.
It's about time that boy fell in love.
I found a house.
House? Thought we were renting an apartment.
No, we're buying a house.
Buying? It's the most adorable little bungalow, Tony.
Only Hollywood has bungalows, Jeanne.
You don't want to buy a house with me? I love playing House with you.
Not the same thing.
Can I call you back tonight? My boss is on his way over and he doesn't look very happy.
I thought you ran things over there.
I do.
Just not all the time.
We'll play house tonight.
Hey, I win the pool! Wait a minute.
How do you figure that? I predicted that Gibbs would last four days as Director before reverting to working a case.
This is Thursday.
Four days! He's not working on case.
He's just curious.
Every time he's been at the crime scene, he's been there to investigate.
- How is today different? - He is in the Navy Yard because that's where the Director's office is located.
Let's ask him.
So you would have Gibbs give up his post as Acting Director just to win a $50 pool? Yes.
Guess it's true what they say about the Scotsmen.
I trust that if Gibbs is more than just curious, you will inform me? Scout's honor.
You said you were never in the Boy Scouts.
I was an Alpha Chi Delta wet T-shirt spring-break talent scout.
Does that count? Give me some love.
You gave that man too much to swallow in one bite, Dr.
Benoit.
It's a house, Carly, not a steak.
From rental apartment to buying a house in one phone call, are you crazy? You got to take these things slow.
Toss a few home magazines around.
Leave the real estate section of the Sunday paper next to the toilet.
Well, he does crossword puzzles in there.
Okay, talk to him about it when he's vulnerable.
Tony's never vulnerable.
Not even when you put on your best bedside manner? Driver's name is Joe Kelly.
He says the victim hailed him on 25th Street and told him to bring him here.
- To see? - Us.
He did not specify a particular agent.
Mr.
Kelly, did you ever see your fare before? Never.
He seem injured or ill when you picked him up? Not really.
He was kind of out of breath.
Like he was running? Yeah, and he kept looking back over his shoulder like he thought someone might be following us.
Were they? Good luck tailing anyone in D.
C.
traffic.
Did he speak to you? Not a word.
As usual, I did all the talking.
Passes the time, you know? I passed the time, he passed away, poor guy.
- Yeah, Gibbs.
- SecNav is holding, sir.
SecNav? Tell him I'm I already told him you on the Navy Yard and available, sir.
Cynthia, don't ever tell anybody I'm available until I tell you I'm available, okay? - Yes, sir.
- Put him through.
- That the Director on the phone? - SecNav.
- Wonder what Gibbs did wrong.
- Slipped into Jenny's heels.
Ziva, take the driver's statement.
I already did.
McGee crime scene photos, finish 'em.
- Yeah, I finished them.
- You get an I.
D.
? Yeah, the photo on the Yemeni's driver's license matches the victim's.
"Hamal Farhan".
No buzzers.
- Bells.
- What else? List, seven names on it, Farhan is number five.
Obviously, whatever he wanted to tell us had something to do with this list.
Find everyone on it.
So, Director, does that mean you're? I'm heading the investigation.
Hey, Duck, you win the pool.
Yes! Thank you, Jethro.
And I didn't do anything wrong, McGee.
Black Rose has countered our ejection-seat bid.
How does the POB hope to maintain a classical ballet company if there are no classical works scheduled? I have no idea.
Black Rose, Rene? What is La Dame's bid? Double it.
I know you want to corner the market on F-14 components, Rene, but even if the Iranians pay top Euro by the time we split the shipment for transport We're not splitting the shipment now.
It's all going on La Tortue.
She sails for Hormuz on the 23rd.
If the Americans stop her, you risk losing not only the components, but the ship.
$68 million and change.
Regine, the U.
S.
Navy will seize La Tortue after she enters the Persian Gulf.
Don't you know Americans pay more to keep their F-14 parts out of Iranian hands than Iranians pay to get them.
So just double it Nice in 20 minutes.
Time to refresh.
A friend in the GRU informs me that NCIS nipples is quietly trying to locate a former Colonel-General Dimitri Borov.
Elle commence à me gonfler.
She is relentless.
Does that surprise you? She is the first female director of an armed Federal Agency.
Have they located Colonel-General Dimitri Borov? Not yet.
Perhaps they should.
I've been hacking cabs for 22 years.
Never had a fare die on me.
Couple of heart attacks, a suicide attempt or two, but none of them died.
Till now.
Anyone who does something for 22 years must love it.
You kidding? It's the best job in the world! So now you think I'm crazy, right? But here's the thing.
My best friend, I met him in the cab.
The guy who does my tax, I met him in the cab.
Poker buddies, met'em in the cab.
I even met my wife in the cab.
Well, three out of four ain't bad.
This is your statement.
Read it.
If you agree, sign it.
I think we should, call for a recount.
- On what? - Ducky winning the pool.
Gibbs is up in the Director's office directing, right? We're working the case.
He's not.
Because he's waiting for me to give him an update.
Which I'm gonna do, as soon as Mr.
Kelly signs his statement and leaves.
I can go? You can go to the head or our conference room.
He said I could leave.
Well, what I say doesn't count when the boss is here.
Like me when the wife is around.
- Mr.
Kelly.
- Lead the way.
Follow me.
- Update? - McGee.
According to Immigration, Hamal Farhan applied for a student visa twice and was turned down twice.
Granted a six-month tourist visa.
That was a year and a half ago.
Even if he had it extended for a year, he's here illegally.
Should we notify Immigration and deport him? That's a good one, boss.
Actually, his visa was extended indefinitely.
Yemen added Farhan to their Embassy personnel.
What are you trying to do, make me look bad? I just read it.
Added as what? A gardener.
In here.
Anything I can get you, Mr.
Kelly? My cab so I can leave.
To eat or drink? Philly cheesesteak and a beer would be nice.
No alcoholic beverages allowed.
I will work on your sandwich.
You gonna lock me in? No, but there will be an escort outside the door.
Is that another name for a guard? Thelma, you're never gonna believe where I am.
No, I'm not at Kelsey's Bar.
How did he die, Duck? Quickly, Jethro, as the meter ticked over and without the driver even noticing.
And whatever caused his demise is not evident from my autopsy.
There's no sign of violence,no lumps, bumps, punctures or holes.
Drug overdose? Well, I can't say for certain till I receive Abby's report.
But he didn't die of a cardiac infarction which is how most overdoses kill.
His heart shows no sign of coronary artery disease.
In fact, it's in excellent condition, as can be said of all your organs.
Pity they couldn't all have been donated.
They were all so healthy.
Poison? It's the most likely culprit, but again, I wait Abigail.
I thought you were supposed to solve these riddles, Duck.
Abby and I like to share.
Right.
That wouldn't have been your assistant, would it, Director? I do hate a nagging woman, Duck.
She's only doing her job, Jethro.
Ah, Abby.
Any news on the tox screen? Abby, Abby, are you there? Oh, I guess she must have gone.
Oh, this cab is bringing back memories: cheap vinyl, plastic divider, dirty floors.
Actually, these floors are pretty clean.
The ones I remember were dirty.
Let me guess.
Short-lived career as a cabbie? Ah, a short-lived encounter.
Ships in the night.
My first time.
For what? Front seat or back? Back.
Well, both, kind of.
My first time was in a weapons carrier.
Of course it was.
Where was the cabbie when this encounter took place? He was the cabbie, putting himself through school.
It was his first time, too.
- First time for what? - Seeing a curling match, Gibbs.
Have you ever seen a curling match? The pristine ice and those little brooms that sweep That's a clean cab.
So, what killed him, heart attack? No, Ducky ruled out a heart attack.
Poison looks better all the time.
Well, Major Mass Spectrometer is working as fast as he can.
Make him work faster, Abby.
Yes, sir.
Running shoe.
Yeah, that impression matches Farhan's left foot.
The cab must have been cleaned before he was picked up.
After he hailed the cab, like most passengers he didn't sit directly behind the driver.
Crossed his leg like this.
Then he died.
In a very relaxed position.
May have been a natural death, Gibbs.
I know he was healthy and young, but it does happen SADS.
No, sad.
No S.
No it is SADS.
Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome.
Right.
Sorry.
It can leave the heart looking perfectly normal.
McGee, you check out our cabbie? Not yet.
That is my next task.
Hey, boss.
Five of the seven names found on the list in Farhan's wallet are dead.
- A hit list? - When? First died three weeks ago.
The last not including Farhan Monday.
Kind of rules out your SADS theory, Ziva.
- SADS? - Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome.
I know what it is, Ziva.
It's number two on the list.
Sean Price, 24, died of SADS.
- The others? - Heart attack.
- Or a blown autopsy.
- No autopsy.
He was 79.
One car crash, one drowning.
One list, five people.
You and Ziva find the two live names on this list.
Look for a connection.
David Brown and Robert Smith.
There'll be dozens of them.
I read the obits.
If there's a connection, I didn't see it.
There's a connection.
- What? - They're all dead.
Relax, Thelma, they won't keep me here overnight.
I'll be out of here soon.
Right, boss? I'm not your boss.
Right now it sure feels like it.
When'd you have the cab cleaned? I got it that way from dispatch.
How many fares before Farhan.
- He was my first.
- He was looking over his shoulder? Till he was sure we weren't being tailed.
Then he relaxed.
Maybe I just thought he relaxed, seeing how he was dead.
Can I get my cab and go now? Not yet.
I am very relieved that none of the deceased are your friends or relatives.
Hi, may I speak with David Brown? - Yes, I am certain they are dead.
- Thanks.
Oh, no, no, I wouldn't send flowers.
May I speak with David Brown? If you wish to send a sympathy card, I am sure it would be very appreciated.
Well, you have a good life, too.
I wouldn't normally ask you this, but since you don't know the deceased, I was wondering if you'd be interested in subscribing to our DVD club.
It's mostly East German films.
Because I have a very special Gets them off the line fast every time.
Hey, boss, 32 David Browns in the metro area.
So far I've talked to four.
And I notified the Yemen embassy of Director Gibbs! - Your cell phone is off.
- Because I shut it off.
The Yemen embassy has been calling for the Director.
- Did you tell them she's in Paris? - Yes.
Good.
I also told them you were Acting Director.
They're sending an attache to identify the body.
Yes, that is him, Hamal Farhan.
When will the body be released? - When we know how he died and why.
- You suspect murder? I always suspect murder when a healthy young man dies of no apparent cause.
Finding the cause of death could take several days.
Weeks.
It is our request that Mr.
Farhan be turned over to the embassy immediately.
Kid must have been a hell of a gardener.
He had no family in America.
We take care of our own.
This time of night, the embassy sends an e-mail, not a cultural attache, Dr.
Temani.
You are Acting Director of NCIS, I believe? Director will be back at the end of the week if you want to wait around.
Mr.
Farhan wanted to attend an American university, but was repeatedly denied a student visa.
So he took up gardening? Only on paper.
He stops at the embassy every Friday just to pick up a paycheck.
- He was connected.
- Yes.
The son of one of the Prime Minister's advisors.
Hamal wanted to learn English and study American culture, nothing more.
- Did I say there was? - No, but I know what you're thinking.
Hamal was not the type to be involved with terrorism.
He asked to be brought to NCIS for a reason.
I cannot imagine why.
The last person from your country who asked to talk to NCIS was killed.
- When was that? - October 10, 2000.
Two days before the terrorist attack on USSCole.
Do you know Maury Goldberg, Thomas West, Adam Zeileg, Sean Price or Hamal Farhan? - Adam West? - No, not Adam West.
Adam Zeileg or Thomas West.
- You know Burt Ward? - Yeah, I do.
Really? Holy molars! No kidding.
On The Simpsons? Which one? Is that the one with the Muslim guy on the bike? Thanks for your help, Mr.
Brown.
Tell Burt, Tony says hi.
I know, boss.
This isn't TV trivia.
A dead man was left on our door step clutching a hit list.
Well not exactly clutching, but with a hit list in his wallet, and we have to find the two names on the list that haven't been hit yet before they are hit.
- No, DiNozzo.
- No? We have to find the dirt bag that killed the other five! - Agent Gibbs? - What?! Justice called on the Scoletti case.
They've granted the defense permission to do their own ballistics test tomorrow.
Tell Special Agent Gillman this is his case.
As Acting Director, You have to sign off on it.
We still have those case files to review.
We can do them later.
Joe Kelly.
Uh, legit.
He's had a IC licence in D.
C.
for 22 years.
Other than a couple of minor traffic violations, he's clean.
He has been here a while.
Should we release him? - If I wanted him released, McGee - You would have told me.
Scoletti's lawyers have a hired gun coming into check Abby's ballistics.
Tell Abby.
- I'd really rather not.
- It wasn't a request.
- When is the Director returning? - Sometime tomorrow.
I don't think Gibbs is going to last that - Hello? - Yes.
Mister Smith.
I'm calling from NCIS.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
They're questioning the validity of my ballistics?! Scoletti's lawyers are desperate.
They're desperate.
They're like drowning men grasping At thin polystyrene tubes? I was going to say straws, but I do like that idiom better.
Because mine's more accurate.
I mean, does saying, "grasping at straws" tell you if they're made out of paper or glass or metal or polystyrene? No! I pride myself on the accuracy of my forensics, and lawyers lawyers are questioning it! Abby, they don't know you like we know you.
Okay? They're hoping that you made a mistake, but when their ballistic experts don't find any, that makes your forensics all the more damning in court.
So please do not let desperate lawyers grasping at thin polystyrene tubes upset you, please? I love you, McGee.
Not like love you, love you.
Not that I don't love you, because I do, kind of.
You know, like like the way I love puppies.
I could have done without that comparaison.
But I love puppies.
You'll just have to wait.
They can't hold me here overnight.
My wife doesn't believe I'm being held by Navy cops.
He's a material witness.
Thanks, pal.
You know how wives are they don't trust you as far as they can kick you.
Wouldn't know.
Never married.
How did you get away? After a while, women they just don't like me.
- What do you do, leave the toilet lid up? - I know when they're lying.
Men, too.
From the top.
The guy was my first fare.
Flagged me down outside Kelsey's Bar on 25th.
Done.
I have a dozen Smiths left.
Want to take half of them? I don't think so.
- Will make it worth your wow.
- While.
- Not wow.
- Wow makes more sense.
You're right.
Wow would be better.
Then you'll help me? No.
Did you call to apologize? Yeah.
You're right.
I was in a rush.
I should have taken more time.
Me, too.
I sprung that house on you.
It was a surprise.
You willing to look at it with me? Look? Yeah, when? Saturday.
Deal.
I got to go.
I love you, Tony.
Love you, too, Jeanne.
Come on.
You can tell us what you're feeling.
Stop nagging my baby or you can plot the mass spectrum on a graph yourself, McGee.
Perfect.
You know what they say about the watched pot, right? Don't you have something to do? No.
Not until Major Mass Spec tells me if Farhan was poisoned or not.
Be a good boy and go get me Scoletti's weapon out of the evidence locker.
You gonna run another ballistics test? No, I've already quadruple-checked that, but the serial number was filed off of the weapon.
I used an acid-etching solution to lift it up.
I'm going to quadruple check that now.
Abby.
You did not make an error.
By the time you get back, the kettle will be whistling.
If not sooner.
Saxitoxin? - Never heard of it.
- It's a neurotoxin.
It's found in most cases of paralytic shellfish poisoning.
He ate a bad clam? I don't know.
What are you looking for? Gibbs.
He has this uncanny way of just showing up whenever I make a discovery.
He's a little bit off his game since he's been playing Director.
Is that so, McGee? Both of you, get down here.
Saxitoxin is produced by a single-cell organism that flourishes in the warm months.
It is eaten by oysters, clams, mussels, and is responsible for the deadly phenomenon known as "red tide".
The poison disrupts the electrical impulses to the brain, and the body basically forgets how to breath, how to live, and it's practically undetectable.
Good work, my dear.
- Thank you, Ducky.
- You're welcome Whenever you two are done.
Yes, well, six-tenths of a milligram could kill an adult.
That level is consistent with, well, for example, improperly prepared fugu.
It's a blowfish.
Japanese delicacy.
Perhaps death was accidental? Not likely.
His stomach was empty.
And even if it wasn't, the saxitoxin levels were a hundred times higher than he could have possibly consumed by eating shellfish.
There's nothing in nature with that high of a concentration.
During the 50s, a suicide pill was synthesized using contaminated butter clams.
- By who? - Our old friends, The CIA.
Shepard.
Colonel-General Borov.
Who is this? I have located him.
Place de la Concorde.
Circle the obelisk.
I will be waiting where Marie lost her head.
Ten minutes.
Place de la Concorde.
And hit it.
Yes, Director.
There he is.
Pull over.
After Pulp Fiction, a gun aimed my way in a car makes me nervous.
Put it away, Hektor.
And turn around, Hektor.
This is to be a private conversation.
- Colonel-General Borov.
- No foreplay? No time.
So American.
Is La Grenouille in Paris? That's better.
No.
He is in Nice.
I'm joining him later tonight.
Why is the CIA helping me? Perhaps we believe in righting a wrong.
Colonel-General Borov's address.
He's in a hospital? Dying of lung cancer.
Pull over by the bridge.
There's an e-ticket in your name with a visa at Charles de Gaulle.
Aeroflot Flight SU 252 to Moscow.
It departs in three hours.
Au revoir, Chérie.
We are trying to establish a timeline of Farhan's final ride, Gibbs.
Taxicab's on board computer tracked his movements with a GPS, and determined the fare based on how many zones it crossed.
Our cabbie did not take the most direct route from the Embassy.
This is America, Ziva.
Land of opportunity.
No cabbie ever takes the quickest route He dropped down along the river, circumvented the city center.
How much? $27.
65.
Hope you guys are on overtime.
Is this the route you took to the Navy Yard this afternoon? - More or less.
- More.
The fare was $27.
65.
It does not match the distance you said you traveled.
There was traffic.
I was trying to avoid it.
Got jammed up.
He wasn't complaining, you know? Because he was dead.
The wife.
I'm going to take this because she scares me more than you guys.
Thelma? I made the switch.
Now get us the hell out of here.
I'm trying, Thelma, I'm trying.
Yeah, well, try harder, sweet pea.
I'm pretty sure they're going to let me go soon.
Well, they'd better, or you're going to end up like your fare.
Love you, too, sweetheart.
Thelma's really getting worried.
The route.
Okay, so maybe I took the long way around.
What cabbie doesn't now and then? Report me to the commission.
I'll report myself to the commission.
Just tell me we're done.
Tell me I can get my cab and go home to Thelma.
Abby's done with the taxi and he's been here all the day.
Call the front gate.
Thank you.
Thank you Just go home to your wife.
Did I tell you Thelma and I are going to take a cruise to the Bahamas? Bingo.
So how did it get there, Abigail? What are we watching? It's an NSA decryption program scanning all possible connections between people on the list.
There's a five and a three in all their Social Security numbers.
Except for Farhan, who didn't have a Social Security card.
I have the numbers three and five in mine.
- Me, too.
- That's it? No other connections? - Nope.
- No common churches, social clubs, schools, fraternities, nothing.
The only place these people ever met was in the obituaries.
Pull up the full pages of the obituaries.
Where're your eyes go to? The photos.
You think their names were randomly picked from the obits? Gives the appeance of a hit list.
The only one actually murdered was Farhan.
- Why? - To distract us.
Gibbs.
Unless this foam grew legs, something weird is going on.
Not that polrethane foam growing legs isn't weird in the first place, but this is the foam that we found on the floor of the taxi, - and this foam is exactly the same.
- The point.
Well, I just found this foam inside the evidence lock-up.
David.
Too late, he's gone.
- Speed it up.
- 15's the limit.
Never had my ass give me orders.
- What? - Main gate's coming up.
Hi, NCIS call about me? They did, sir.
Both hands on the wheel.
Okay, okay, whatever you say.
Step out of the taxi.
Hands on the wheel or step out? I can't do both.
Guess.
Oh, man.
Both hands on the hood.
What is this, Baghdad? Gibbs! Thank God you're here.
Tell these Glrines I can go.
- Clear.
- Clear? It's empty.
- Front or back? - What? Which seat?! Which seat? What are you talking about? The accomplice you smuggled into the evidence lock-up.
Accomplice? Thelma looks like you when she's pissed, only she doesn't have a gun, thank God.
Front or back? Front, front.
Name? Mario Vincetti.
Mario! Special Agent Gibbs.
Come out.
Slowly, hands first.
There's no sense in getting Don't shoot.
I'm coming out.
I said drive faster.
And to think I pitied a murderer.
Murderer? That guy was murdered? I didn't know.
I ain't no murderer.
Mario told me the guy was a stiff they got from a funeral home.
Tell them.
Let Scoletti's lawyers do the talking, dummy.
Scoletti's lawyers got us into this mess.
Shut up! Honest, I didn't know they killed the guy.
I was going to get ten grand, take Thelma on a Princess cruise to the Bahamas.
A second honeymoon.
We never had a first.
Tell her enough with the evil eye.
It reminds me of my mother.
You're comparing me to your mother.
Just the eyes, maybe a little around the mouth.
Permission to shoot? And you come all the way from America to see my grandfather? Actually, I was in Paris when I found out he was ill.
He is dying.
This week, perhaps next.
Lung cancer.
I'm sorry.
Still, you must have flown half the day to get here.
I'm writing my father's biography.
He and the Colonel-General were close friends.
They were adversaries, yes? Sometimes adversaries make the best friends.
Most days the morphine affects his memory.
Let's hope this isn't one of them.
Stuff the crocus.
Do you have a cigarette? Cigarettes put you here.
Oh, what are they going to do? Kill me twice? It appears to be a good day.
I will find a vase.
Do you have a cigarette? Your father and I swapped Cuban cigars for American cigarettes.
Like vodka.
It does not burn so much the second time.
You did not come all this way to watch an old man die.
No.
I came for your signature.
What does it say? That you verified the destruction of Warsaw Pact weapons that were in fact acquired by an arms dealer known as La Grenouille.
Are you angry at your father? No.
Why would you even think that? We had to mutually verify.
La Grenouille paid him, too.
That's a lie.
A dying man does not lie.
Ask your father.
My father's dead.
He beat me to it.
- When? - 12 years ago.
The old fox.
One last move on the game, huh? My father has been dead since '95.
He stood where you stand three weeks ago, smoking a cigar.
Might as well get comfortable; this could take some time.
Check the ID, check the trunk.
No dogs.
Hate dogs.
Dogs are a pain in the ass.
Never met a dog that didn't want to try to bite me.
Looking for bombs or bin Laden, I guess.
Clear.
Finally.
Proceed.
Good morning, sir.
- Photo ID and pop the trunk, please.
- Sure thing.
Drop off? Guy says he wants to see someone at NCIS.
Clear.
Lower the window, please, sir.
Hey, buddy, lady needs to see some ID.
Photo ID, please, sir.
Sir? Step out of the vehicle, please.
These files have to be reviewed by Friday.
I'll get to them.
Tomorrow's Friday.
Had a wife like you once, Cynthia.
- I divorced her.
- Beat her to it, did you? You didn't read it.
Scoletti case.
I know the case agent.
Jeff Gillman.
He's a good man.
Director doesn't want Justice not going to trial because of a procedural error.
Well, then the Director should be here instead of shopping in Paris all week.
An Interpol antiterrorist conference isn't shopping.
Yeah.
You know him, too? Yep.
Don't worry.
Justice has its own procedural problems.
Who's Special Agent Grisham? Transferred in from San Diego.
Hollywood Special Agent.
- Rejected.
- You have to give a reason.
It's her private line.
Hello, Cynthia.
Cynthia? No Jethro.
I should have recognized the heavy breathing.
Is the Agency intact? I cut it up into small bitsy pieces and sold it to the three-letter boys.
I take it walking my heels has presented a challenge.
Well, I accepted some speaking requests for you.
Which speaking requests? Women for Women, St.
Paul, Minnesota chapter.
The eighth grade class of Hondo Middle School in Hondo, Texas.
The teacher, she's an admirer.
Society of Preservation for Barbershop Quartets.
You're not serious, Jethro.
Well, about the barbershop quartets, no, no, I'm not.
But I did accept six, seven eight, nine others for you.
- Put Cynthia on.
- Hey, how's the frog legs? You always enjoyed them sauted in butter.
Cynthia.
Now! Yes, Director.
Tell me you didn't send out acceptances for speaking engagements.
Of course not, Director.
Thank you, Cynthia.
You have just earned yourself a Hermes scarf.
Thank you, Director.
C'était un grand plaisir, madame.
Au revoir.
Put him back on.
Yes? Is there any serious business I should know about? Well, the Buy America toilet paper doesn't fit the metric fixtures, and we got a truck She hang up on me.
Shocking.
You call back to apologize? I don't know what you heard, boss, but I was not the one who started that pool.
What pool is that, DiNozzo? - On the case.
- What case? "There's a dead body in the taxi at the main gate" case.
I'll be right there.
The case files? Leave them on my desk.
They are on your desk.
It's not often we get to walk to a crime scene, if this is a crime scene.
There's no blood, no bullet holes, no knife punctures, no obvious signs of bruising, no ligiture marks, no petechial hemorrhaging on the eye or eyelid.
Natural causes? There's nothing natural about a man of his age keeling over in a taxicab.
Maybe he died of embarrassment when he couldn't pay the cab fare.
Alas, death by embarrassment is not a certifiable cause, however intriguing the notion.
Excuse me, Ducky.
It's about time that boy fell in love.
I found a house.
House? Thought we were renting an apartment.
No, we're buying a house.
Buying? It's the most adorable little bungalow, Tony.
Only Hollywood has bungalows, Jeanne.
You don't want to buy a house with me? I love playing House with you.
Not the same thing.
Can I call you back tonight? My boss is on his way over and he doesn't look very happy.
I thought you ran things over there.
I do.
Just not all the time.
We'll play house tonight.
Hey, I win the pool! Wait a minute.
How do you figure that? I predicted that Gibbs would last four days as Director before reverting to working a case.
This is Thursday.
Four days! He's not working on case.
He's just curious.
Every time he's been at the crime scene, he's been there to investigate.
- How is today different? - He is in the Navy Yard because that's where the Director's office is located.
Let's ask him.
So you would have Gibbs give up his post as Acting Director just to win a $50 pool? Yes.
Guess it's true what they say about the Scotsmen.
I trust that if Gibbs is more than just curious, you will inform me? Scout's honor.
You said you were never in the Boy Scouts.
I was an Alpha Chi Delta wet T-shirt spring-break talent scout.
Does that count? Give me some love.
You gave that man too much to swallow in one bite, Dr.
Benoit.
It's a house, Carly, not a steak.
From rental apartment to buying a house in one phone call, are you crazy? You got to take these things slow.
Toss a few home magazines around.
Leave the real estate section of the Sunday paper next to the toilet.
Well, he does crossword puzzles in there.
Okay, talk to him about it when he's vulnerable.
Tony's never vulnerable.
Not even when you put on your best bedside manner? Driver's name is Joe Kelly.
He says the victim hailed him on 25th Street and told him to bring him here.
- To see? - Us.
He did not specify a particular agent.
Mr.
Kelly, did you ever see your fare before? Never.
He seem injured or ill when you picked him up? Not really.
He was kind of out of breath.
Like he was running? Yeah, and he kept looking back over his shoulder like he thought someone might be following us.
Were they? Good luck tailing anyone in D.
C.
traffic.
Did he speak to you? Not a word.
As usual, I did all the talking.
Passes the time, you know? I passed the time, he passed away, poor guy.
- Yeah, Gibbs.
- SecNav is holding, sir.
SecNav? Tell him I'm I already told him you on the Navy Yard and available, sir.
Cynthia, don't ever tell anybody I'm available until I tell you I'm available, okay? - Yes, sir.
- Put him through.
- That the Director on the phone? - SecNav.
- Wonder what Gibbs did wrong.
- Slipped into Jenny's heels.
Ziva, take the driver's statement.
I already did.
McGee crime scene photos, finish 'em.
- Yeah, I finished them.
- You get an I.
D.
? Yeah, the photo on the Yemeni's driver's license matches the victim's.
"Hamal Farhan".
No buzzers.
- Bells.
- What else? List, seven names on it, Farhan is number five.
Obviously, whatever he wanted to tell us had something to do with this list.
Find everyone on it.
So, Director, does that mean you're? I'm heading the investigation.
Hey, Duck, you win the pool.
Yes! Thank you, Jethro.
And I didn't do anything wrong, McGee.
Black Rose has countered our ejection-seat bid.
How does the POB hope to maintain a classical ballet company if there are no classical works scheduled? I have no idea.
Black Rose, Rene? What is La Dame's bid? Double it.
I know you want to corner the market on F-14 components, Rene, but even if the Iranians pay top Euro by the time we split the shipment for transport We're not splitting the shipment now.
It's all going on La Tortue.
She sails for Hormuz on the 23rd.
If the Americans stop her, you risk losing not only the components, but the ship.
$68 million and change.
Regine, the U.
S.
Navy will seize La Tortue after she enters the Persian Gulf.
Don't you know Americans pay more to keep their F-14 parts out of Iranian hands than Iranians pay to get them.
So just double it Nice in 20 minutes.
Time to refresh.
A friend in the GRU informs me that NCIS nipples is quietly trying to locate a former Colonel-General Dimitri Borov.
Elle commence à me gonfler.
She is relentless.
Does that surprise you? She is the first female director of an armed Federal Agency.
Have they located Colonel-General Dimitri Borov? Not yet.
Perhaps they should.
I've been hacking cabs for 22 years.
Never had a fare die on me.
Couple of heart attacks, a suicide attempt or two, but none of them died.
Till now.
Anyone who does something for 22 years must love it.
You kidding? It's the best job in the world! So now you think I'm crazy, right? But here's the thing.
My best friend, I met him in the cab.
The guy who does my tax, I met him in the cab.
Poker buddies, met'em in the cab.
I even met my wife in the cab.
Well, three out of four ain't bad.
This is your statement.
Read it.
If you agree, sign it.
I think we should, call for a recount.
- On what? - Ducky winning the pool.
Gibbs is up in the Director's office directing, right? We're working the case.
He's not.
Because he's waiting for me to give him an update.
Which I'm gonna do, as soon as Mr.
Kelly signs his statement and leaves.
I can go? You can go to the head or our conference room.
He said I could leave.
Well, what I say doesn't count when the boss is here.
Like me when the wife is around.
- Mr.
Kelly.
- Lead the way.
Follow me.
- Update? - McGee.
According to Immigration, Hamal Farhan applied for a student visa twice and was turned down twice.
Granted a six-month tourist visa.
That was a year and a half ago.
Even if he had it extended for a year, he's here illegally.
Should we notify Immigration and deport him? That's a good one, boss.
Actually, his visa was extended indefinitely.
Yemen added Farhan to their Embassy personnel.
What are you trying to do, make me look bad? I just read it.
Added as what? A gardener.
In here.
Anything I can get you, Mr.
Kelly? My cab so I can leave.
To eat or drink? Philly cheesesteak and a beer would be nice.
No alcoholic beverages allowed.
I will work on your sandwich.
You gonna lock me in? No, but there will be an escort outside the door.
Is that another name for a guard? Thelma, you're never gonna believe where I am.
No, I'm not at Kelsey's Bar.
How did he die, Duck? Quickly, Jethro, as the meter ticked over and without the driver even noticing.
And whatever caused his demise is not evident from my autopsy.
There's no sign of violence,no lumps, bumps, punctures or holes.
Drug overdose? Well, I can't say for certain till I receive Abby's report.
But he didn't die of a cardiac infarction which is how most overdoses kill.
His heart shows no sign of coronary artery disease.
In fact, it's in excellent condition, as can be said of all your organs.
Pity they couldn't all have been donated.
They were all so healthy.
Poison? It's the most likely culprit, but again, I wait Abigail.
I thought you were supposed to solve these riddles, Duck.
Abby and I like to share.
Right.
That wouldn't have been your assistant, would it, Director? I do hate a nagging woman, Duck.
She's only doing her job, Jethro.
Ah, Abby.
Any news on the tox screen? Abby, Abby, are you there? Oh, I guess she must have gone.
Oh, this cab is bringing back memories: cheap vinyl, plastic divider, dirty floors.
Actually, these floors are pretty clean.
The ones I remember were dirty.
Let me guess.
Short-lived career as a cabbie? Ah, a short-lived encounter.
Ships in the night.
My first time.
For what? Front seat or back? Back.
Well, both, kind of.
My first time was in a weapons carrier.
Of course it was.
Where was the cabbie when this encounter took place? He was the cabbie, putting himself through school.
It was his first time, too.
- First time for what? - Seeing a curling match, Gibbs.
Have you ever seen a curling match? The pristine ice and those little brooms that sweep That's a clean cab.
So, what killed him, heart attack? No, Ducky ruled out a heart attack.
Poison looks better all the time.
Well, Major Mass Spectrometer is working as fast as he can.
Make him work faster, Abby.
Yes, sir.
Running shoe.
Yeah, that impression matches Farhan's left foot.
The cab must have been cleaned before he was picked up.
After he hailed the cab, like most passengers he didn't sit directly behind the driver.
Crossed his leg like this.
Then he died.
In a very relaxed position.
May have been a natural death, Gibbs.
I know he was healthy and young, but it does happen SADS.
No, sad.
No S.
No it is SADS.
Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome.
Right.
Sorry.
It can leave the heart looking perfectly normal.
McGee, you check out our cabbie? Not yet.
That is my next task.
Hey, boss.
Five of the seven names found on the list in Farhan's wallet are dead.
- A hit list? - When? First died three weeks ago.
The last not including Farhan Monday.
Kind of rules out your SADS theory, Ziva.
- SADS? - Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome.
I know what it is, Ziva.
It's number two on the list.
Sean Price, 24, died of SADS.
- The others? - Heart attack.
- Or a blown autopsy.
- No autopsy.
He was 79.
One car crash, one drowning.
One list, five people.
You and Ziva find the two live names on this list.
Look for a connection.
David Brown and Robert Smith.
There'll be dozens of them.
I read the obits.
If there's a connection, I didn't see it.
There's a connection.
- What? - They're all dead.
Relax, Thelma, they won't keep me here overnight.
I'll be out of here soon.
Right, boss? I'm not your boss.
Right now it sure feels like it.
When'd you have the cab cleaned? I got it that way from dispatch.
How many fares before Farhan.
- He was my first.
- He was looking over his shoulder? Till he was sure we weren't being tailed.
Then he relaxed.
Maybe I just thought he relaxed, seeing how he was dead.
Can I get my cab and go now? Not yet.
I am very relieved that none of the deceased are your friends or relatives.
Hi, may I speak with David Brown? - Yes, I am certain they are dead.
- Thanks.
Oh, no, no, I wouldn't send flowers.
May I speak with David Brown? If you wish to send a sympathy card, I am sure it would be very appreciated.
Well, you have a good life, too.
I wouldn't normally ask you this, but since you don't know the deceased, I was wondering if you'd be interested in subscribing to our DVD club.
It's mostly East German films.
Because I have a very special Gets them off the line fast every time.
Hey, boss, 32 David Browns in the metro area.
So far I've talked to four.
And I notified the Yemen embassy of Director Gibbs! - Your cell phone is off.
- Because I shut it off.
The Yemen embassy has been calling for the Director.
- Did you tell them she's in Paris? - Yes.
Good.
I also told them you were Acting Director.
They're sending an attache to identify the body.
Yes, that is him, Hamal Farhan.
When will the body be released? - When we know how he died and why.
- You suspect murder? I always suspect murder when a healthy young man dies of no apparent cause.
Finding the cause of death could take several days.
Weeks.
It is our request that Mr.
Farhan be turned over to the embassy immediately.
Kid must have been a hell of a gardener.
He had no family in America.
We take care of our own.
This time of night, the embassy sends an e-mail, not a cultural attache, Dr.
Temani.
You are Acting Director of NCIS, I believe? Director will be back at the end of the week if you want to wait around.
Mr.
Farhan wanted to attend an American university, but was repeatedly denied a student visa.
So he took up gardening? Only on paper.
He stops at the embassy every Friday just to pick up a paycheck.
- He was connected.
- Yes.
The son of one of the Prime Minister's advisors.
Hamal wanted to learn English and study American culture, nothing more.
- Did I say there was? - No, but I know what you're thinking.
Hamal was not the type to be involved with terrorism.
He asked to be brought to NCIS for a reason.
I cannot imagine why.
The last person from your country who asked to talk to NCIS was killed.
- When was that? - October 10, 2000.
Two days before the terrorist attack on USSCole.
Do you know Maury Goldberg, Thomas West, Adam Zeileg, Sean Price or Hamal Farhan? - Adam West? - No, not Adam West.
Adam Zeileg or Thomas West.
- You know Burt Ward? - Yeah, I do.
Really? Holy molars! No kidding.
On The Simpsons? Which one? Is that the one with the Muslim guy on the bike? Thanks for your help, Mr.
Brown.
Tell Burt, Tony says hi.
I know, boss.
This isn't TV trivia.
A dead man was left on our door step clutching a hit list.
Well not exactly clutching, but with a hit list in his wallet, and we have to find the two names on the list that haven't been hit yet before they are hit.
- No, DiNozzo.
- No? We have to find the dirt bag that killed the other five! - Agent Gibbs? - What?! Justice called on the Scoletti case.
They've granted the defense permission to do their own ballistics test tomorrow.
Tell Special Agent Gillman this is his case.
As Acting Director, You have to sign off on it.
We still have those case files to review.
We can do them later.
Joe Kelly.
Uh, legit.
He's had a IC licence in D.
C.
for 22 years.
Other than a couple of minor traffic violations, he's clean.
He has been here a while.
Should we release him? - If I wanted him released, McGee - You would have told me.
Scoletti's lawyers have a hired gun coming into check Abby's ballistics.
Tell Abby.
- I'd really rather not.
- It wasn't a request.
- When is the Director returning? - Sometime tomorrow.
I don't think Gibbs is going to last that - Hello? - Yes.
Mister Smith.
I'm calling from NCIS.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
They're questioning the validity of my ballistics?! Scoletti's lawyers are desperate.
They're desperate.
They're like drowning men grasping At thin polystyrene tubes? I was going to say straws, but I do like that idiom better.
Because mine's more accurate.
I mean, does saying, "grasping at straws" tell you if they're made out of paper or glass or metal or polystyrene? No! I pride myself on the accuracy of my forensics, and lawyers lawyers are questioning it! Abby, they don't know you like we know you.
Okay? They're hoping that you made a mistake, but when their ballistic experts don't find any, that makes your forensics all the more damning in court.
So please do not let desperate lawyers grasping at thin polystyrene tubes upset you, please? I love you, McGee.
Not like love you, love you.
Not that I don't love you, because I do, kind of.
You know, like like the way I love puppies.
I could have done without that comparaison.
But I love puppies.
You'll just have to wait.
They can't hold me here overnight.
My wife doesn't believe I'm being held by Navy cops.
He's a material witness.
Thanks, pal.
You know how wives are they don't trust you as far as they can kick you.
Wouldn't know.
Never married.
How did you get away? After a while, women they just don't like me.
- What do you do, leave the toilet lid up? - I know when they're lying.
Men, too.
From the top.
The guy was my first fare.
Flagged me down outside Kelsey's Bar on 25th.
Done.
I have a dozen Smiths left.
Want to take half of them? I don't think so.
- Will make it worth your wow.
- While.
- Not wow.
- Wow makes more sense.
You're right.
Wow would be better.
Then you'll help me? No.
Did you call to apologize? Yeah.
You're right.
I was in a rush.
I should have taken more time.
Me, too.
I sprung that house on you.
It was a surprise.
You willing to look at it with me? Look? Yeah, when? Saturday.
Deal.
I got to go.
I love you, Tony.
Love you, too, Jeanne.
Come on.
You can tell us what you're feeling.
Stop nagging my baby or you can plot the mass spectrum on a graph yourself, McGee.
Perfect.
You know what they say about the watched pot, right? Don't you have something to do? No.
Not until Major Mass Spec tells me if Farhan was poisoned or not.
Be a good boy and go get me Scoletti's weapon out of the evidence locker.
You gonna run another ballistics test? No, I've already quadruple-checked that, but the serial number was filed off of the weapon.
I used an acid-etching solution to lift it up.
I'm going to quadruple check that now.
Abby.
You did not make an error.
By the time you get back, the kettle will be whistling.
If not sooner.
Saxitoxin? - Never heard of it.
- It's a neurotoxin.
It's found in most cases of paralytic shellfish poisoning.
He ate a bad clam? I don't know.
What are you looking for? Gibbs.
He has this uncanny way of just showing up whenever I make a discovery.
He's a little bit off his game since he's been playing Director.
Is that so, McGee? Both of you, get down here.
Saxitoxin is produced by a single-cell organism that flourishes in the warm months.
It is eaten by oysters, clams, mussels, and is responsible for the deadly phenomenon known as "red tide".
The poison disrupts the electrical impulses to the brain, and the body basically forgets how to breath, how to live, and it's practically undetectable.
Good work, my dear.
- Thank you, Ducky.
- You're welcome Whenever you two are done.
Yes, well, six-tenths of a milligram could kill an adult.
That level is consistent with, well, for example, improperly prepared fugu.
It's a blowfish.
Japanese delicacy.
Perhaps death was accidental? Not likely.
His stomach was empty.
And even if it wasn't, the saxitoxin levels were a hundred times higher than he could have possibly consumed by eating shellfish.
There's nothing in nature with that high of a concentration.
During the 50s, a suicide pill was synthesized using contaminated butter clams.
- By who? - Our old friends, The CIA.
Shepard.
Colonel-General Borov.
Who is this? I have located him.
Place de la Concorde.
Circle the obelisk.
I will be waiting where Marie lost her head.
Ten minutes.
Place de la Concorde.
And hit it.
Yes, Director.
There he is.
Pull over.
After Pulp Fiction, a gun aimed my way in a car makes me nervous.
Put it away, Hektor.
And turn around, Hektor.
This is to be a private conversation.
- Colonel-General Borov.
- No foreplay? No time.
So American.
Is La Grenouille in Paris? That's better.
No.
He is in Nice.
I'm joining him later tonight.
Why is the CIA helping me? Perhaps we believe in righting a wrong.
Colonel-General Borov's address.
He's in a hospital? Dying of lung cancer.
Pull over by the bridge.
There's an e-ticket in your name with a visa at Charles de Gaulle.
Aeroflot Flight SU 252 to Moscow.
It departs in three hours.
Au revoir, Chérie.
We are trying to establish a timeline of Farhan's final ride, Gibbs.
Taxicab's on board computer tracked his movements with a GPS, and determined the fare based on how many zones it crossed.
Our cabbie did not take the most direct route from the Embassy.
This is America, Ziva.
Land of opportunity.
No cabbie ever takes the quickest route He dropped down along the river, circumvented the city center.
How much? $27.
65.
Hope you guys are on overtime.
Is this the route you took to the Navy Yard this afternoon? - More or less.
- More.
The fare was $27.
65.
It does not match the distance you said you traveled.
There was traffic.
I was trying to avoid it.
Got jammed up.
He wasn't complaining, you know? Because he was dead.
The wife.
I'm going to take this because she scares me more than you guys.
Thelma? I made the switch.
Now get us the hell out of here.
I'm trying, Thelma, I'm trying.
Yeah, well, try harder, sweet pea.
I'm pretty sure they're going to let me go soon.
Well, they'd better, or you're going to end up like your fare.
Love you, too, sweetheart.
Thelma's really getting worried.
The route.
Okay, so maybe I took the long way around.
What cabbie doesn't now and then? Report me to the commission.
I'll report myself to the commission.
Just tell me we're done.
Tell me I can get my cab and go home to Thelma.
Abby's done with the taxi and he's been here all the day.
Call the front gate.
Thank you.
Thank you Just go home to your wife.
Did I tell you Thelma and I are going to take a cruise to the Bahamas? Bingo.
So how did it get there, Abigail? What are we watching? It's an NSA decryption program scanning all possible connections between people on the list.
There's a five and a three in all their Social Security numbers.
Except for Farhan, who didn't have a Social Security card.
I have the numbers three and five in mine.
- Me, too.
- That's it? No other connections? - Nope.
- No common churches, social clubs, schools, fraternities, nothing.
The only place these people ever met was in the obituaries.
Pull up the full pages of the obituaries.
Where're your eyes go to? The photos.
You think their names were randomly picked from the obits? Gives the appeance of a hit list.
The only one actually murdered was Farhan.
- Why? - To distract us.
Gibbs.
Unless this foam grew legs, something weird is going on.
Not that polrethane foam growing legs isn't weird in the first place, but this is the foam that we found on the floor of the taxi, - and this foam is exactly the same.
- The point.
Well, I just found this foam inside the evidence lock-up.
David.
Too late, he's gone.
- Speed it up.
- 15's the limit.
Never had my ass give me orders.
- What? - Main gate's coming up.
Hi, NCIS call about me? They did, sir.
Both hands on the wheel.
Okay, okay, whatever you say.
Step out of the taxi.
Hands on the wheel or step out? I can't do both.
Guess.
Oh, man.
Both hands on the hood.
What is this, Baghdad? Gibbs! Thank God you're here.
Tell these Glrines I can go.
- Clear.
- Clear? It's empty.
- Front or back? - What? Which seat?! Which seat? What are you talking about? The accomplice you smuggled into the evidence lock-up.
Accomplice? Thelma looks like you when she's pissed, only she doesn't have a gun, thank God.
Front or back? Front, front.
Name? Mario Vincetti.
Mario! Special Agent Gibbs.
Come out.
Slowly, hands first.
There's no sense in getting Don't shoot.
I'm coming out.
I said drive faster.
And to think I pitied a murderer.
Murderer? That guy was murdered? I didn't know.
I ain't no murderer.
Mario told me the guy was a stiff they got from a funeral home.
Tell them.
Let Scoletti's lawyers do the talking, dummy.
Scoletti's lawyers got us into this mess.
Shut up! Honest, I didn't know they killed the guy.
I was going to get ten grand, take Thelma on a Princess cruise to the Bahamas.
A second honeymoon.
We never had a first.
Tell her enough with the evil eye.
It reminds me of my mother.
You're comparing me to your mother.
Just the eyes, maybe a little around the mouth.
Permission to shoot? And you come all the way from America to see my grandfather? Actually, I was in Paris when I found out he was ill.
He is dying.
This week, perhaps next.
Lung cancer.
I'm sorry.
Still, you must have flown half the day to get here.
I'm writing my father's biography.
He and the Colonel-General were close friends.
They were adversaries, yes? Sometimes adversaries make the best friends.
Most days the morphine affects his memory.
Let's hope this isn't one of them.
Stuff the crocus.
Do you have a cigarette? Cigarettes put you here.
Oh, what are they going to do? Kill me twice? It appears to be a good day.
I will find a vase.
Do you have a cigarette? Your father and I swapped Cuban cigars for American cigarettes.
Like vodka.
It does not burn so much the second time.
You did not come all this way to watch an old man die.
No.
I came for your signature.
What does it say? That you verified the destruction of Warsaw Pact weapons that were in fact acquired by an arms dealer known as La Grenouille.
Are you angry at your father? No.
Why would you even think that? We had to mutually verify.
La Grenouille paid him, too.
That's a lie.
A dying man does not lie.
Ask your father.
My father's dead.
He beat me to it.
- When? - 12 years ago.
The old fox.
One last move on the game, huh? My father has been dead since '95.
He stood where you stand three weeks ago, smoking a cigar.