NCIS Los Angeles s06e16 Episode Script

Expiration Date

- Who are you? - Jemadar Thapa.
- Fifth Gurkha Rifle Regimen.
- Gurkha what? Who? Commandos recruited from the mountains of Nepal at age 14.
Good with any blade, but they made the kukri famous.
Pentagon says that Thapa checks out, which means he's on our side.
The heart needs discipline.
Without discipline, there is no honor.
Without honor, we are nothing.
You're pretty cool, Thapa.
For a second, I forgot that you chopped off some guy's head.
There is one way to cross a frozen lake.
Take your time.
She will wait for you.
- Headed for a dead end.
- Or an ambush.
- He works alone.
- That's his rep.
And it's a lethal one.
It's okay, Ella.
You have no idea how far from okay we really are right now.
Where is he? - I always hoped we'd meet again.
- Ella's coming with us.
Everyone has a mission.
Your mission's over, Thapa.
Never tell a Gurkha his mission is over.
You won't like the response.
You don't know what he can do with that blade.
Been there, done that.
Ella, go to the car.
Go wherever you please, Ella.
I will find you once I am finished here.
- Sniper! Ugh! - Sam! Callen, the shooter's not mine.
Go.
- Thapa, call an ambulance.
- On it.
That means the long term forecast is looking for more of the same - That tickles.
- Ha, ha.
Morning, Detective Deeks.
Good morning, Special Agent Kensi Blye.
Or should I say, Kay-Kay? Heh.
You gotta do this lemon drop shot with me, Kay.
- That's not funny.
- It was pretty funny.
I knew that introducing you to my friends was a mistake.
What are you talking about? They're great.
No, don't Don't do that.
Don't humor me.
All right, well, in all fairness, they probably hit their great peakness at the age of 15, but they're still great.
- Definitely should've waited.
- What are you talking about? The time is now.
Besides, if you like them, - I like them.
- You don't remember their names.
Kat, Mindy, Mandy, Tiffany and Tiffany.
How can you forget such a pantheon of crazy girl names? I think we're moving too fast.
And it's awesome.
We are around each other every day.
- Totally awesome.
- We see each other every night.
Totally and completely awesome.
- Deeks, this isn't normal.
- We're not normal.
Our fondest memories include Taliban bullet holes and Hetty Lange.
You're no Bridget Jones, and I am no Whatever the male equivalent to Bridget Jones is.
- You hated my best friends.
- I didn't hate your best friends.
I spent four hours talking about brunch spots, Love Actually and And fantasy engagements, while they wore these shirts that said "keep calm and eat cupcakes.
" For your information, I'm also obsessed with Love Actually, brunch and fantasy engagements.
Okay, can we not do this? Can we not turn this into Deeks versus Kensi, Kat, Mindy, Mandy, Tiffany and Tiffany? - They make me happy.
- Wait, do I not make you happy? Yes, you make me happy, but it's a different kind of happy.
Wow.
Ouch.
That came out wrong.
Is this really happening? Are we just having our first fight here? Well Kens.
I just nee - Deeks.
- Kensi.
- How bad is it? - He's in surgery.
- Hetty's at the hospital.
It's all I know.
- The sniper? In the wind.
This op was supposed to be routine.
CIA did not want Ella flying into Dulles.
It's too risky.
They brought her from New Delhi to Amsterdam to L.
A.
She was supposed to stay here for 24 hours while Sam and I handled any tails that she may have picked up.
Okay, so, what happened? He happened.
- Who gave him clearance? - Hetty.
India wasn't about to let her go.
So they sent their best Gurkha.
Thapa's mission was to bring Ella back home.
No cover, no support.
Totally deniable black op until Sam stepped in front of a bullet.
Suddenly India had to play ball, and fast.
This is a joint task force now.
- Are we sure he's on our side? - I trust him.
- Well, his mission conflicts with ours.
- I trust him.
He was as shocked as I was when Sam went down.
Without Thapa's help, we may not have made it to the hospital.
Are you okay? Callen? Thapa.
Good to see you.
Wish it was under better circumstances.
I feel the same way, sahib.
- How's that blade of yours? - Sharp.
- How's your partner? - Pfft.
Sharper.
Well, officially, India is an ally.
Unofficially, we keep eyes on them like any other country with nukes.
Ella Desai is an insider, a scientist who has more details about that region's nuclear program than spying could ever tell us.
Six months ago, she approached the CIA's office in New Delhi.
She claims that her boss was accepting bribes from lobbyists.
Why'd she come to us? Ella says the guilty parties are too powerful to prosecute locally.
- She's right.
- She believes the men running India's nuclear arsenal don't take too kindly to whistleblowers.
She's right about that too.
Why are you dragging her back to India against her will? Orders are orders.
The agency offered her citizenship and a cushy analyst job in exchange for everything she knows.
We were supposed to meet her.
Thapa got there before us.
We chased them into a warehouse.
Moments later, Agent Hanna was bleeding out on the floor.
Sam spotted the sniper, he took the bullet, but he was not the target.
It was either me or Ella.
Every terrorist group wants what's inside of Ella's head.
Killing Thapa puts them one step closer.
Whereas killing her doesn't help anyone except India.
And all the secrets she knows die with her.
India ordered me to bring her back alive.
My mission was very clear.
Missions change.
Sniper could have been a backup plan.
My handlers would have told me about a backup plan.
Brother, I think you're giving your handlers too much credit.
Sniper took a shot from the fifth floor.
Check it out.
Start tracking this guy down.
- What about Ella? - Defectors always look too good to be true.
Some are real, the rest are just double agents assigned to keep us chasing our tails year after year.
- Sounds like you've met one before.
- I've been one before.
Hetty wants me to debrief Ella.
- I will join you, Agent Callen.
- No.
Your mission is not Ella anymore.
If that's the case, why shouldn't I just board the next plane back to India? Because my partner took a bullet today, and we need your help.
Then you have it, sahib.
Let's do it.
Medical team seems squared away.
You know, Dr.
Bates flew in just for Sam.
I called for help, and he was on the first chopper out of Coronado.
How's Michelle holding up? She's a professional.
The children, on the other hand, are another story.
She's explaining it all to them now.
I don't envy her that task.
A mother's work is never done.
- Michelle is very strong, Owen.
- Agreed.
But she's not the one I was talking about.
I think I can see where the sniper set up his shot.
I'll check it out before we go in.
All right.
Listen, you got any Gurkha wisdom for me? Because Kay-Kay's been fighting me ever since we woke up.
Fighting since you woke up? Hold on.
Last time I was here, you were still trying to figure out your feelings.
- How long since? - Christmas.
- You've already moved in together? - No.
Well I mean, we spend pretty much every night together, and, obviously, every day together.
- Are you crazy? - Maybe.
Who moves that fast? Last time I was here, I advised you, - be patient.
- You think we're moving too fast? Most new couples do.
Spending every moment together, staging photos to display their happiness, introducing them to friends and family.
It feels real before it becomes real.
Wow.
You know a lot about women.
I'm a Gurkha, - not a monk.
- Yeah.
It's on the fifth floor.
Let's go.
- Ready to investigate, Kay-Kay.
- Oh, no.
Mm.
- What did he just call me? - I don't know.
I didn't hear it.
- There's so much traffic - There was no traffic.
A truck came by and honked - You think this is funny? - He thinks it's funny, but he's from Nepal.
You know, he's got Nepalese humor.
It's very - distinct.
- Yeah.
Ha, ha.
See, I'm laughing, but I'm not finding this funny.
- There.
- Yeah, there it is.
It's a loop hole.
Could have used a diamond cutter.
Shooter's definitely a pro.
Yeah, posting up here gives him every angle on the warehouse.
Prevents him from having to move from window to window.
And this column, - lots of protection from return fire.
- Yeah.
Look at that.
Well, that narrows our suspects down to Einstein, Descartes and the guy from Good Will Hunting.
I mean, wow.
And me telling Mrs.
Powell that I'm never gonna use algebra in real life.
Ballistic algorithms.
It's the most advanced I've seen.
Do you recognize it? I created it.
The only people in the world trained to use them are Gurkhas.
Is your partner okay? I want the exact number of every nuclear warhead in India's arsenal.
Operational, decommissioned and under construction, every one.
I already have a handler, a CIA man named Doug Emmerich.
I'm here, and he's not.
Says something about the agency's opinion of you now.
Scare tactics, Agent Callen? I think if I wanted to scare you, I'd probably have a Gurkha here.
Look, I'm really not trying to be difficult.
Your partner risked his life to help me.
Please extend the courtesy of an answer.
Sam Hanna died on the operating table today.
I'm so sorry, Agent Callen.
So am I.
Agency doesn't like to get their hands dirty.
- They're rethinking your entire deal.
- What does that mean? Sending you home, forgetting this mess happened.
Do you have any idea what they'll do to me back there? - I'm sorry about your partner - Stop apologizing and convince me my partner didn't die for nothing.
We got two L.
A.
P.
D.
Detectives stationed at the warehouse entrance.
- They're keeping it sealed off for us.
- Any news on Sam? - They're still operating on him.
- Thanks.
How did the shooter know exactly the place and time you were gonna show up with Ella? It was a designated extraction point.
My orders were to bring her there and rendezvous with an asset who would help us cross the border.
- Does this asset have a name? - No name.
Just an encrypted number.
I called it the moment I had Ella, but it had been disconnected.
You were right, sahib.
Maybe I'd been giving my handlers far too much credit.
So why would they set you up? I told them that I would not kill Ella.
There was no Plan B.
Maybe they found a Gurkha - more agreeable than me.
- And he's still out there.
We must find him.
I can talk to him, make sure Ella doesn't get hurt.
He'll listen to me.
As much as I'd like to wrap up today with two Gurkhas singing "Give Peace A Chance" over a pitcher of beer, brother, I don't think that's gonna happen.
Let's check out that warehouse.
You think she's the real thing? No one's the real thing.
Some of us just have fewer lies to tell.
Sam? Still in surgery.
Can I ask for your opinion, Thapa? Of course, Kay-Kay.
No, no.
He's on my side.
Go find your own Gurkha.
You're dating someone.
You take him to meet your friends and they freak out.
Kat, Mindy, Mandy, Tiffany and Tiffany did not freak me out.
Leaves you wondering whether they accept all of you or just a part of you.
- Don't know what you're talking about.
- It's insecurity.
Insecure because of Love Actually - and my affinity for cupcakes? - Obviously defensive.
You know what you sound like right now? You sound crazy.
Which explains why he just called me the one thing that no woman wants to be called.
- Crazy.
- Exactly.
- So, what is your opinion? - You know what? Go ahead.
Drop a knowledge bomb on us.
We can handle it.
Tell us the truth.
He is a guru.
Watch and learn.
Go for it.
Gurkhas are like monks.
We don't know much about relationships.
I'm sorry, what? My strength lies in listening.
- And there it is.
- No.
- That knowledge.
- No.
- If more men listened like you, - Oh, man.
- Less women would be labeled crazy.
- Indeed.
Thank you.
To be continued, Your Holiness.
The information you requested.
I'd like to speak to Agent Emmerich.
- Agent Emmerich is - Still at his office in Langley.
You're damaged goods, Ella.
Nobody wants your stink to rub off on them.
- If I could just speak to him.
- Think he'll take your call? He's ready to send you home.
And if that happens, my partner died for a plane fare.
You and I want the same thing.
Now, give me something to change Emmerich's mind.
- I wrote down what you asked.
- I need more.
- There is no more.
- Don't lie to me! - That's enough, Agent Callen.
- I'm not done! Yes, you are.
That's an order.
Talk to me, Eric.
An agent named Doug Emmerich is headed your way.
He wants to finalize Ella's deal and fly her back to Langley within the hour.
I feel like I already know him.
Kens.
Kensi, we got blood on the door.
Oh, this just happened.
Those cuts are really deep.
The work of a kukri.
- Hey, Kens.
What's up? - Eric, both detectives are down.
I repeat, both detectives are down.
Send backup immediately.
Roger that, I'm on it.
See that? - We should pull back, sahib.
- That's not an option.
By the time backup shows up, our guy could be gone.
Ready? - One, two - Wait, wait.
Federal agents.
That's definitely more than one shooter.
We gotta get out of this choke point.
- They knew we were coming.
- We must keep moving.
Moving on three.
One, two - You guys smell that? - Yeah, gasoline.
You gotta be kidding me.
They just funneled us right into a Center of a bomb.
Listen.
They're gone.
No detonation cord.
They're going to set off the explosion manually, which means they've left someone behind.
And one shot, and we're Kentucky Fried.
All right, so where is he? There's only one place someone could detonate this bomb and not kill themselves in the process.
Open fire this close to the gas, and you will do the job for him.
Like a boss.
Let's go.
The rest of the team cleared out.
I haven't been a Gurkha for years.
Just another killer for hire now.
Once brothers, always brothers.
Even now? Especially now, my friend.
Ella betrayed India, but she's not the target.
She never was.
You are.
We cross-referenced the pics of the dead Gurkhas against military databases in India, England and Nepal.
These Gurkhas were dishonorably discharged within the last five years.
Various charges include assault, theft and narcotics.
In many ways, Gurkhas are special.
In others, we are as human as anyone else.
What do these Gurkhas do after they're discharged? Private military contracting work.
Hunting high-value targets, interrogations, counter-surveillance for VIP clients.
So the same thing they're doing in the military, but with more money and less oversight.
Now there's a team of them running loose in L.
A.
Great.
Thanks.
- Not a problem.
- I get why players in India want Ella dead.
They got the intel to find her, they got resources to hire ex-Gurkhas.
What I don't understand is why they would target you instead.
I have been asking myself the same question, sahib.
My handlers believed that this mission would be suicide for anyone else.
They're right.
I mean, you're loyal and lethal.
That's a rare combo.
Which is all the more reason why they should help you get back safely.
I have many questions.
I would like to see how Ella answers them.
I'll call Callen.
I don't approve of how Agent Callen's handling this, but he's your best shot at getting back in the CIA's good graces.
I told him what he wanted to know.
So I took a look at your count of India's nuclear warheads.
It's completely accurate.
In 2008, an American infiltrated India's nuclear agency, came back with an exact tally of their nuclear weapons.
That was a popular rumor in my office.
Thank you for confirming it.
India was informed after the fact.
It was a show of good faith and a friendly reminder of who really runs things.
What's your point? According to you, that tally hasn't changed in seven years.
You're assuming the number circulated back then was accurate.
- It was accurate.
- How can you be absolutely sure? Callen brought back the tally in the first place.
The tally I gave you in 2008 remains accurate today.
You're lying.
India's not mass-producing nuclear missiles.
Is it that hard to believe the number stayed flat? I went back again last year.
The number of nuclear warheads has doubled.
And I'm the one who sent him.
How much disinformation have you already fed the CIA? - What the hell is this? - A debriefing, Agent Emmerich.
I'll debrief my own asset, thank you very much.
- I hope you brought a polygraph.
- Your partner just came out of surgery.
He made it.
The CIA thanks you for helping our asset come in safely.
Now go home.
And you're calling me a liar? She's not who she says she is.
Take it up with the White House.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
- Just heard about Sam.
- Yeah, thank God.
It's the first good thing that's happened today.
We needed it.
That's Ella's CIA contact, Doug Emmerich.
Is he open to working with us? Guessing not.
I didn't exactly make the best first impression.
It's still early, but that's my pick for understatement of the year.
No case officer wants to find out that his newest asset might be fake.
- What do you mean? - I don't trust her.
Every once in a while she'll hand out some real intel, but mostly it'll be lies.
While Langley's spinning their wheels, she's reporting everything she sees back to her handlers in India.
- My name is Jemadar Thapa.
- Yeah, I know who you are.
I'm aware you're escorting Ella Desai back to her new home.
I was wondering if I could have just a few minutes with her.
You can trust him, Emmerich.
Who's gonna guarantee that? I will.
Why do you look scared? She's not scared, sahib.
She's surprised I'm still alive.
- Aren't you? - I don't know what you mean.
Why are you really here? You know why.
Enough of this.
Someone call Agent Emmerich.
Tell me the truth.
Get control of him.
- He's under control.
Right, Thapa? - Why was I betrayed? - Why are Gurkhas trying to kill me? - Get off me! Why did my people lie to me? Why am I really here? All right, as of now, this task force is over.
If Thapa comes within ten feet of my asset again, he will spend the rest of his life in a black site prison.
- We need him for this case.
- You don't have a case.
Never heard this place so quiet.
I think we've all had enough guns for one day, sahib.
How you holding up? Thinking of my wife and children.
My home.
The uncertainty that waits for me back in India.
Well, you know you always got a home here, right? I've been walking the warrior's path for so long that home isn't a place anymore.
It is a feeling.
What do you mean? What do you mean a feeling? It is my wife's smile.
My children's laughter.
The friendship I never expected.
I built my home on these feelings so I would never have to leave.
So home is not in the heart.
Home is the heart.
One day, I won't be a Gurkha anymore.
I will be a feeling.
Now you'll know where to find me.
We gotta talk about your handlers.
They hung you out to dry.
There is something else a warrior carries in their heart, sahib.
An expiration date.
Yeah, well, there's nothing we can do about that though, right? And yet we spend our lives trying to do so many things about it, when all we really need to be is ready.
Yeah.
Just heard from the hospital.
A nurse said Sam's asking for you.
Then let's make this quick.
The CIA has confirmed Ella's deal.
She's America's newest prize.
And I just got a copy of Emmerich's initial report to Langley.
In his words, "if India sent Thapa after Ella, then she's valuable.
If she's valuable, then the terrorists want what she knows.
Thapa was targeted because of his proximity to this agency's new asset.
" Well, now that Ella's safely in CIA custody, there's no longer motivation to kill Thapa.
On paper, it's logical.
Since when do terrorists hire ex-Gurkhas to do their dirty work? All this effort for a woman you never trusted in the first place.
I have to make a stop before we go to the hospital.
It was a traumatic wound, but Sam is expected to make a full recovery.
I can't say the same about you and your relations with the CIA.
Ella's a double agent, Hetty.
Associates of mine in India's parliament are also skeptical, but events seem to indicate otherwise.
A bullet to Sam's chest, the lives of two detectives were only part of the price to secure her.
The price was high.
But what if that was the plan from the beginning? Inserting a spy inside the CIA is almost impossible.
Unless that spy appears to be valuable.
So valuable that you're willing to ignore obvious risks.
How would India create the appearance of such value? Send an elite operative like Thapa on a mission to bring back Ella.
Hire another group to kill Thapa, on behalf of some rogue group that doesn't exist.
The more casualties that pile up, the more valuable Ella appears.
Suddenly, she's a hot commodity.
CIA has to have her.
The spy game has more in common with selling used cars than any of us would like to admit.
Unfortunately, it's just a theory.
It's too little, it's too late, I have no proof.
Everyone's already made up their minds.
Changing minds is hard.
A good car salesman wouldn't even attempt it.
Instead, he changes the customer's definition of value.
Welcome back, Agent Hanna.
- How long was I out? - Not long.
You've got company.
Hey.
Please tell me somebody disinfected Deeks before they let him in here.
He's not supposed to have visitors until tomorrow, but I'll look the other way for a few minutes.
Thank you, doctor.
What happened to Ella? - It's a long story.
- What's up, Eric? Doctors wouldn't let me talk before.
Something I wanted to tell you.
Tell me what? Before I got shot, Ella, she put a GPS tracking beacon on him.
Okay, just one second.
Guys, we have a problem.
Eric, repeat what you said to me.
L.
A.
P.
D.
Just got a call from a woman named Cecilia Ramos.
Her sister never showed up for work today.
She got worried, started looking for her.
Where does her sister work? Maria Ramos was a nurse at the hospital you're at right now.
What do you mean, "was"? Police just found her body in the trunk of her car.
Throat slit, nurse's uniform missing.
Eric, we need backup now.
Get this building locked down.
- What's the situation? - It's bad.
- When you say bad - Very bad.
Getting shot is very bad.
Your cooking is very bad.
Granger after two drinks is very bad.
I need you to be more specific, G.
You remember the time we fought Thapa? Oh, angry Gurkha rates very, very bad on the Hanna scale of bad people, places and things.
We got six of them coming our way.
No.
Who are you? - What's going on? - Shh.
It's okay.
- Deeks.
- Got this.
Son of a Callen, hostile headed your way! - Let her go.
- I'll open her throat.
- Stick with him.
- It's exactly what he wants.
Save that hostage, G.
Do it! Thapa took a bullet.
What? No.
It's not your expiration date, Sam.
It's okay.
Look at me.
This is like last time.
I'm gonna get you fixed up, we take you home.
- I'm already there.
- Here, Deeks.
You're gonna stay with me.
You stay with me.
Look for me in smiles, sahib.
You'll see me waving back at you.
Thapa.
Buddy.
- Deeks.
- Thapa.
He's gone.
What's Param Vir Chakra? You must be eager to lose your job, Agent Callen.
Param Vir Chakra.
I guess I could just look it up online.
It's India's highest military honor.
Param Vir Chakra translates to "wheel of the ultimate brave.
" Wow.
They just awarded it to Thapa posthumously for extraordinary valor and self-sacrifice in defense of his country.
India's also investigating a rogue group of spies for running unauthorized ops against America.
Extremists that took advantage of a certain Gurkha's loyalty.
And? And we know about the tracker you placed on Thapa.
The CIA is not bailing you out, so if you ever wanna see daylight again, you are gonna list every one of their names, numbers and addresses before the night's done.
So you can pay them a visit? - How are you holding up? - Yeah, I've been, uh I've been better.
Your place or mine? Um I was thinking about that, and I was thinking that maybe we should, uh I don't know, maybe we should take a night off every now and then.
I'm so glad you said that.
Really? Then why didn't you just say it first? Because we had that stupid first official fight this morning.
It can't be our first official fight because I don't remember what it was about.
I remember exactly what it was about.
Well, I've completely forgotten it, Kay-Kay.
Are you okay? Yeah, I was just thinking about what Thapa told me about smiles.
He said that smiles are Never mind.
I will, uh I'll tell you later.
All right.
So, um, getting through our first fight's a pretty big deal, right? I'd say it's pretty huge.
I mean, some would argue that this would be a call for celebration.
Ha.
But not Not tonight.
Well, no, not to quote the Fairy Godmother, but technically, tonight ends when the clock strikes midnight, so Heh.
Just Just call me if you wanna talk.
What? Your smile is so perfect.
And there it is.
Good night.
You should go home.
I'm already there.

Previous EpisodeNext Episode