NCIS s06e24 Episode Script

It's to you, Hutch.
Director Hutchins.
Did you hear that? Can't hear anything with you splashing the pot.
Len, who's your girl on point? Foster-Yates? Yeah.
Agent Foster-Yates, come in.
Yes, sir-- is there a problem? We just heard a noise on the patio.
- Foster-Yates! - I'm on my way, sir.
Get back inside! Stay inside, Director.
- One through four, secure the perimeter.
- What the hell's going on? Five through eight, converge on SecNav's residence.
- We got an agent down! - Lock down the perimeter.
Secure the doors.
Get an ambulance now! proudly presents sync:ßÇÈâÈâ Episode24 Semper Fidelis - Dead man is ICE.
- That's cold.
Immigration Customs Enforcement.
- This is turning into a circus.
- Here come the clowns.
FBI does have jurisdiction in the death of a federal agent.
Well, I like our chances, with Gibbs in there waving a chair like Gunther Gebel-Williams.
Lion tamer.
He's my second favorite hero after Steve McQueen.
Sure, because riding a motorcycle looks cool and all, but But no one messes with a man driving an elephant.
A game of cards between the agency chiefs at the Secretary of the Navy's house.
Love to be a fly on that wall.
To buzz and irritate the big bosses? No, to eavesdrop on their conversation.
That is an invasion of privacy, McGee.
Mind your backs there, please.
Ladies and gentlemen, the amazing Dr.
Donald "Ducky" Mallard, the first and only M.
E.
under the big top.
Not to slight your penchant for theatrics, Anthony, but, uh, where is our ringmaster? Duking it out for the job with Fornell and some girl from ICE.
Excuse me.
A murder investigation? Let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Agent Sherman could've had a heart attack, for all we know.
Medical examiner is here.
Great.
NCIS takes the lead, supported by FBI, I.
C.
E.
CIA can go home.
- My house, my rules.
- Good luck.
All yours.
Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Agent Julia Foster-Yates.
So cards on the table.
Four high-profile targets in the same room.
We were tasked with protection.
For a poker game.
We take even the simplest assignments very seriously.
Not seriously enough.
Looks like someone dropped a cocktail wienie.
I have a riddle for you.
What is not food, but tastes very well? I'll give you a hint.
And you should come up with the answer before Officer David, since it's right on the Tip of your tongue.
He bit it off.
He was flailing, losing control of his limbs.
Was he poisoned? No, I don't think so.
He has this severe bruise on his neck.
No, this man was attacked.
Are you certain? Are you the one that performed CPR? Unsuccessfully.
Well, it was the right instinct.
This man was oxygen-deprived.
See, he has petechial hemorrhaging in his eyes.
He was strangled.
That would suggest someone penetrated our security web unseen.
And why is that so unlikely? Because I designed it.
It was airtight.
Apparently not.
Downloaded all the footage from the surveillance cams covering the grounds.
Patio's a blind spot.
Bosses get together couple times a year.
Locations and responsibilities rotate.
SecNav's place, ICE's people.
CIA brought the chips and dip.
- The Bureau - The booze.
- Little early for a drink, Jethro.
- Yeah, I might need it.
To settle your gut? Something here bother you, boss? No.
Nothing here.
Not here.
Heads of the CIA, FBI, I.
C.
E.
That's a full bowl of alphabet soup, huh? Not all of them.
Which letters you got on your badge, McGee? Oils from his face when he pressed against the glass.
Powder is sticking.
Might be adhesive.
Agent DiNozzo, Officer David A fly.
Bug.
On the wall.
Boss, we found a listening device.
Looks like it was stuck to the glass.
Agent Sherman flails against the door.
It gets dislodged.
Falls under his body.
Whatever happened here Is still happening.
Is it functional? Damaged.
Best not to take any chances.
No! I mean, it's not like he left no trace behind.
He left exactly one trace.
The bug.
But someone, in their infinite wisdom, decided to stomp it into a hundred pieces.
It might've still been transmitting.
It was not transmitting.
We could have tracked the signal, you know, maybe gotten a lead.
The bug stomp.
It's a classic movie move.
Sounds like a Tony.
Nah, it was a Jules.
A Jules? What is a Jules? I'm going to have to have a word with this Jules if we ever have the good fortune of meeting.
I'd like to be here for that.
What, you holding aces and eights there, McGee? Dead man's hand? What? No, no, this is what was on the table when the game ended.
The pot's not right.
What do you mean? Well at a quick glance, it looks like, uh, five-card draw, 50-buck ante.
ICE starts the action with two bills, three callers.
** SecNav draws one to fill in an inside straight and misses-- figures.
CIA keeps the cowboys, mucks the rags, pulls a second pair.
Hutch misses the flush, but won't bow out.
ICE is the clear leader, standing pat at the wheel.
I I have no idea what you just said.
You got to be an idiot to still be in this hand.
Are these guys not paying attention? They're not playing very well.
Well, obviously not as well as you.
Someone was spying on the card game.
Dead agent got in the way.
In previous games, Davenport and his buddies have always threatened to play till someone dropped.
I guess we should have believed them.
You've played with them.
But not last night.
Last time I played, I cleaned Hutch out.
I cleaned them all out.
That's probably why they didn't invite you back.
Got a hell of a poker face.
Ducky has the body.
McGee's processing the scene.
DiNozzo and David? Reviewing ICE's protection detail.
Scouring the grounds with Agent Foster-Yates.
- Keep me updated.
- Sir.
Heavy footfalls on the lawn, directed towards the patio.
Agents stationed at the perimeter converged on the house after Sherman went down.
They did not catch his attacker.
He did not get out this way.
Unless he could cross a lawn without bending a blade of grass.
Well, not impossible with the proper training.
She can also do that trick where you put your ear to a rail and you can hear a train coming.
- You get this same training? - Me? No.
but I can eat a bucket of chicken in one sitting and, uh, I have X-ray vision.
Complementary skill sets make for a stronger team dynamic.
I was always trying to explain that concept to Sherman.
Bit of a maverick, huh? He was a good agent.
I'm sure the two of you don't always agree on everything.
No, not everything.
Healthy debate breeds, uh, creative solutions.
Isn't that right, Ziva? Where did she go? A few branches are missing up here.
A clear view of the property.
He could study the patrol pattern.
They go in, he goes up, and then he goes out that gate.
It's McGee.
Hey, Gibbs wants you guys to come back.
- I'm up a tree.
- Well, this might only confuse you further.
Well, who said I was confused? - You said you're up a tree.
- I am.
Why is he calling you and not me? I'm the senior field agent.
I don't know why he's not calling you, Tony.
- I did call Tony.
- He's not making any sense.
And you're the one not making sense.
He said he called you.
I'm not getting a signal.
How come you're getting a signal and I'm not? Because I'm up a tree.
We solve cases all the time like this.
What did McGee have to say? That it is time to go.
Using his forearm and biceps, the attacker puts pressure on both sides of the neck, cutting off the blood supply through the carotid arteries.
Here.
Cradled in the crook of his arm The trachea and larynx remain unharmed.
Tobias, Tobi-- you, you push up on a rear choke, not down, - and you turn your chin into your shoulder.
- Yeah.
After a few moments in the aptly named sleeper hold, and the victim loses consciousness.
Failure to release the pressure causes a complete systematic shutdown.
- The bladder and bowels release.
- Hey, Duck? Oh, continue the pressure and the result is inevitable.
Death.
By asphyxiation.
Yeah, well, that's what I was anticipating but not what I discovered.
Agent Sherman's medical records.
He had warning signs of atherosclerotic disease.
Aggravated by the temporary deprivation of blood to the brain and He suffered a fatal stroke.
Yeah, but if the attacker's intent was to kill, he would have held the choke hold long enough until the lungs failed.
- I'm good.
- But he didn't.
Attack wasn't meant to be lethal.
Well, that's what I think.
So the intruder makes his way quickly through a secure perimeter, subdues the only guard he encounters silently, and leaves a listening device behind.
And vanishes.
We're dealing with a pro, which eliminates the neighbor kid retrieving a lost Frisbee.
I'll have the Bureau compile profiles.
Using your X-ray vision? Black lace, matching set.
Really? On the job? SECNAV usually has an NCIS agent tasked to guard him at all times, but ICE was assigned the detail.
Ten men in total, huh? For a poker game they were not even playing.
Why don't you tell us what's really going on? The game was just a cover.
Wasn't it? I was instructed not to reveal any details.
Oh, I think you should disregard that instruction.
Four agencies filled with people who speclize in finding out information.
It was an intelligence summit.
What was the subject? I wish I knew.
Whatever it was, someone was willing to kill to find out.
Intelligence summit? Seems like your classic contradiction in terms.
Don't give me the look; I didn't know.
You had suspicions.
Because you had suspicions.
I'm riding shotgun here, Gibbs.
- Yeah, can I borrow it? - Go easy, Hoss.
She was just doing what she was told.
You do not get to determine what is worth sharing and what is not.
- I don't answer to you, Agent Gibbs.
- Yes, you do.
Yes you do.
What else have you left out? Perimeter! Uh, solid design, boss.
Effective.
Barring human error.
Are you suggesting I'm incompetent or this was an inside job? Dealer's choice.
Boss, you know, I could use the footage to build an animated model and recreate the movements of all the players, see if there was any possible path of entry.
All I would need is the position reports.
You got that.
Help him out.
Starting to doubt the invisible man theory, boss? Backgrounds.
Every agent on the detail last night-- personal and professional histories.
Possible suspects with the necessary skills, starting with known foreign operatives in the area.
FBI profiles.
Really help narrow it down if we knew what the summit was about.
Yeah, it would.
You got another one of those? Triplicate.
We need to know what they were discussing.
Please, come right in.
It's crucial to the investigation.
Suppose it goes to motive.
Yes, it does, Mr.
Secretary.
Sit down, gentlemen.
First year of a new president's term, he's tested.
Check your timeline.
June, July, eight years ago, Al-Qaeda showed themselves.
In flight schools where no one was interested in learning how to take off or land.
Our opportunity was missed because agencies weren't in the habit of sharing information.
There've been far too many foreign nationals being far too comfortable on American soil-- gun runners, terror cells, even Israeli Mossad.
You mean like Rivkin.
Slipping through our borders like 9/11 never happened.
Came to a head in L.
A.
with OSP.
Mossad's operative still hasn't been called home since then.
That's Director Eli David's not too subtle message that we're not doing a strong enough job of policing our own backyard.
The pretext of a poker game was meant to cut down on the chatter leading up to the summit, and the informal setting serves to loosen stubborn lips accustomed to secrecy.
- NCIS wasn't represented.
- I was there.
Was one surviving member of the cell in California Haziq Khaleel? He's in custody.
Macy and Hanna-- they conducted the interrogation.
Did he spill? Haziq gave up his handler Abin Tabal.
- He give up anything on Callen's shooter? - No.
How's Callen doing? He's still critical.
He's hanging in there.
We got a guy on our watch list using the alias Abin Tabal-- believed to be here in Washington.
Chase him down.
Abin Tabal, aka Adolfo Ruiz, aka Hikmet Gillersoy, aka, like, nine other made-up names.
Over the course of the last three years, he has hit the watch list with Spanish, Russian, Chechnyan, Greek, and Cypriot passports.
Doesn't keep the same one very long.
The United States is the only common destination among all the passports.
Under various identities, he's landed in Egypt, Algeria, Libya, and Niger.
So the guy's got a fondness for Northern Africa.
Excuse me.
Officer David.
Shalom.
What do you think? Training center? He's the handler.
Goes back and forth between headquarters and activating sleeper cells in the States.
I'll catch Gibbs up.
Find the guy.
Oh, o-okay.
I like taking orders from just about anybody, I guess.
Especially the guy who framed me for murder.
One minute he's framing me for murder, the next he's treating me like a perfectly capable agent.
The nerve.
I have to run out for a few minutes.
I'll be right back.
I will be right here.
****** Full digitization would take all day.
Quick-scan the access road footage? Exactly what I was thinking, Jules.
Thanks for coming to my rescue up there.
I appreciate it, Tim.
My pleasure.
Are you often in the habit of destroying evidence, Jules? Beg your pardon? You should, actually, because I'm the one responsible for reconnecting and reactivating all of those extremely delicate pieces of electronics.
- You can do that? - Of course I can.
Then what's the problem? You probably know some kind of martial arts or something, huh? When I was in high school, my mother was the ambassador to Bangkok.
I fell in love with Muay Thai.
So iI tried to scratch your eyes out, you could probably break my fingers? That would be a mistake.
You need your fingers to fix that bug.
And in my own lab.
Rewind that security footage.
Uh, it's the same car.
Second time it's passed by.
Casing the place.
Can you I.
D.
the driver? No, but I can pull the plate.
Let's pull up the registration.
Someone you know? I got to get Gibbs.
Uh, Jules, you should probably come with me.
A vehicle.
Pulled off surveillance approaching SECNAV's house.
That doesn't belong to Abin Tabal.
Come on, Leon, you should be able to recognize your own car.
What were you doing outside the house? I wasn't invited inside.
I'm getting very tired of information being withheld.
I know what you mean.
Curiosity can make you do some funny things.
Like what? Cruise a secret meeting? Just to confirm it took place.
Director Hutchins let it slip a week ago.
Before he realized you were being excluded? It's a tough town, Gibbs.
Believe it or not, I'm still trying to get the hang of it.
Relationships are delicate.
Why weren't you invited? Because they were there to talk about me.
I wish I could stay for lunch, Michael.
That's okay.
Join me for a drink.
Another vodka, just a splash of soda this time, please.
Uh, nothing for me, thanks.
I'm working on a case.
Tell me.
This is what a relationship looks like.
How was your day, dear? I'll tell you when it's over.
Tony, I thought I told you I would Shut up.
You gotta get back here right now.
- Okay.
- Now! Okay.
You have to go already? Well, we're looking for a terrorist, and Tony says we just found him, so I'll see you later? - Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Is this seat taken? This is a little like that scene in Heat when Pacino and DeNiro finally meet.
I'm DeNiro in this scene? You think you're DeNiro in this scene.
Okay.
You can call me Al.
I'll spare you the singing.
You've come to chase her away from me.
Mikey Israel.
In the very tan flesh.
Trip to L.
A.
did you good.
Ziva prefers darker skin.
How does she like being played? 'Cause I think we both know, this romance isn't kosher.
I can understand your suspicions, given what we have about you in your dossier Agent Meatball.
There's an El Al flight tonight out of Ronald Reagan at 8:25 p.
m.
Lands at Ben-Gurion tomorrow evening.
I'm not finished spending time with Ziva.
NCIS says you are.
Ziva's very lucky to have a man like you in her life.
Like a big brother.
I've got some work to do, and you clearly have some drinking to finish, and after that, I think you should start packing.
You can question my feelings for Ziva all you want.
Unfortunately, you can't question her feelings for me.
Can you? Say good-bye, Mikey.
Get on the flight.
We've reconstructed everyone's movements from last night on this is a wire frame representation of the SecNav's residence.
These blue figures represent the agents on patrol.
The units moved in overlapping sweeping patterns on the outer layer.
The inner layer was stationary.
Sophisticated.
Even if someone managed to get through the outer ring unseen, their path would be limited.
They'd be funneled into plain sight.
So, what went wrong? Well, there's a hole in the net.
When Sherman leaves to take the position on the patio, leaves this avenue wide open.
Yes, it does.
Well, you got an explanation? It's an error.
Nobody's perfect, Jules.
Not you and not this guy.
We'll find him.
Ziva, you got those backgrounds? Almost finished.
These are what we have so far.
- Got to check in with my boss.
- Sure.
- Abby needs my help with the bug.
- Go.
This idea of friendly relations between agencies, full disclosure Flies in the face of history.
You vouch for the ICE princess? She's cool on the outside, but when she opens up, she's she's full of beans, molten cheese, like a microwave burrito.
What? I'm hungry.
****** So when the bug is working properly, it emits a signal that can piggyback on any available internet connection, and then, it can upload the audio to a live stream on a private Web site.
Oh, so, basically, it's a fancy tin can.
We follow the string to the can on the other end.
What, you never camped out in the backyard as a kid? Are you crazy? There were alligators in my backyard.
You know, you don't really need my help with this.
Second set of hands can't hurt.
You feeling neglected? Neglected? More like nauseous.
Having to watch you flirt with that Jules.
Come on.
I wasn't flirting.
Your hands drifting across the keyboard.
Pinkies accidentally grazing each other.
Please.
I know.
She's out of my league, anyway, Abs.
No, she's not.
We have not found Tabal yet.
We really should be working harder.
I came back here quickly because you said we had found Abin Tabal.
Where were you? Where were you? He was in L.
A.
on business just like he's in D.
C.
on business.
I cannot believe you.
If you wanted to meet him, you could ask me to introduce you.
I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't check on him.
Gibbs told him to clock out.
I told him to clock out.
Perhaps it would carry some more weight if it came from you.
Michael is here to see me.
He is not working.
He is on vacation.
Well, he certainly is drinking like it.
Conference room this way? I'll show you.
CPB hasn't gotten a hit yet on any of Abin Tabal's known aliases.
Likely he's still in the country.
The invisible man.
The results of interviews with every member of your team last night.
There were some bad feelings circulating.
Inevitable with any team, I imagine.
Performance reviews-- Agent Sherman's and yours.
He had four more years of service than you did, but you were promoted over him.
With good cause.
You'll notice my evals and recs were consistently higher.
He openly objected to taking orders from a woman with less seniority.
You can't have appreciated that.
Agent Sherman was very passionate about his duty.
He was a thorn in your side.
Let's just stop right here, before you embarrass yourselves by actually accusing me of killing Agent Sherman! I lost an agent last night.
Maybe that gets easier with time, but for me, it's I've been trying not to kick dirt on a dead man's grave.
That's my mistake.
His death is not He wasn't supposed to be on the patio.
He was out of position.
He disregarded his assignment.
- Why? - I don't know.
Spite.
Jealousy.
He was never concerned about making me look bad.
There was a hole in the net because he moved.
He's dead for the same reason he never got the promotion.
He didn't operate as part of a team.
And you do? Yeah.
Gibbs.
Yeah.
All right.
Abby's got a link to Tabal.
You coming? Schematics of SecNav's house.
- Looks like our guy.
- So does this.
Abin Tabal.
Well, at least now we know he really existed.
Potassium cyanide poisoning.
We found a residue of silica and polyisoprene between his first and second premolars.
He bit down on a suicide pill.
- Just a few hours ago.
- Yeah.
No signs of forced entry at the motel.
No indication of any struggle.
Abin Tabal killed himself.
This guy's supposed to be invisible.
That's his primary asset as an operative.
He loses that when he accidentally kills an American agent.
His usefulness is gone.
We close off all exit routes.
So he decides to take the only other way out.
You back this psychology? Yeah.
If-If he was a true believer.
If he believed himself a threat to the cause, then exposure becomes his enemy.
If he removes himself, he removes the problem.
After he's passed on all the intel he's managed to accumulate.
He wiped his computer.
Abby's sifting through it.
But she already connected the laptop to the electronics and the listening device? Smoking gun.
Case closed.
Write it up.
I think you're already packed up, McGee.
He's delaying his departure to coincide with someone else.
It was nice working with you guys.
Thank you for everything.
- Yeah, you, too.
- You, too.
I'll walk out with you.
So what did Gibbs and Fornell have to say? They were just apologizing for implying I might be a murderer.
- You're kidding.
They were? - Yes.
- The both of them? - That's so shocking? Well, uh You know, it might take a while to fully grasp the significance of that.
Okay.
Explain it to me.
I've got no plans.
All right.
Did Gibbs actually say the words, "I'm sorry"? - Good night.
- Night.
Rule Number 11, DiNozzo.
I would never date a co-worker, boss.
Trust me.
I mean, why would you even That's 12.
The case is wrapped up, DiNozzo.
In a nice, little bow.
And, and that works for you, Fornell? Crazy terrorist kills himself.
Can't really understand that mentality.
Doesn't mean I can't accept it.
So what's on your mind? Rivkin's been in town.
I know.
With Ziva.
Guy doesn't listen.
Does that bother you on a professional level or a personal one? Well, I tell you what-- I'm having a little trouble untangling the two.
So you are bothered.
Oh, yeah.
It bothers me.
You stay on it.
Yep.
How'd you know what I like to drink, Gibbs? My older brother gave me my first bourbon, before I was even a teenager.
He liked to mess with my head.
My grandfather had a still.
It blew up once and he ran back inside to rescue his sour mash.
It is a living thing.
It's safe to talk here? Safer than your house.
It was a point of pride with my brother, though.
I never hit you, he'd say.
Preferred psychological warfare.
You're an only child, aren't you, Gibbs? The Corps.
Strangers become brothers in a foxhole.
That why you've been digging dirt? Trying to get closer to Leon? No.
I never asked for this.
Never opened it.
Well let's see what the CIA's got on Leon Vance.
I thought we shredded all these.
How does this thing keep finding its way into the open? It's not even real.
Lucky you didn't read this.
Wouldn't give you the whole picture anyway.
And you will? - Is that Tabal's laptop? - Yeah.
Before Tabal killed himself, he wiped all the sensitive information.
Oh, so there's nothing useful on it, huh? He did fail to erase the laptop's network location memory.
It's a log that records all previous network connections, so you can access them easily in the future.
All that's going to tell us is where he's used the Internet before.
Bring that up.
- I know that address.
- Yeah.
Me, too.
It's Ziva's.
Lot of black bars covering Leon's career.
Man was born for counterintelligence.
You didn't peg him for a lifelong bureaucrat Nah.
Figured he'd worn a few hats.
Heard a whisper or two.
There's not a second of his life I can't account for.
I might hit him with a stick every now and then, but, uh, I did not leave him out of that poker game because I don't trust him.
You were discussing how to use him.
Yeah, I know.
Since Director Shepard's death, you've been concerned with the danger in having the wrong person at the top.
Well, you're not alone.
You're not the only one looking out for the integrity of NCIS.
Leon's going to be point man in a major operation.
- Who's the enemy? - That's the problem.
It's our friends.
The Israelis.
Top priority.
Ever since Shepard created that unorthodox position of "liaison officer.
" You're talking about Ziva David.
Father's the director of Mossad, half-brother was a rogue operative.
He died in this room, didn't he? At your hand.
And she works with you every day.
What a family.
Ziva, it's Tony.
You're here.
Ziva is not.
She'll be back soon.
You're welcome to come in and wait for her.
Did you really expect me to leave her because you threaten me? I had my hopes.
Did they include you coming here late at night? Maybe finding Ziva in an emotional state? You help her pick up the pieces? I'm here about a case.
An American agent was killed last night.
All the evidence points to a terrorist named Abin Tabal.
I think you're familiar with him.
Of course he killed himself before we could catch up to him.
- Zealot.
- That's the theory.
It's a little too clean for me.
Does not sound clean at all.
Sounds like the further you dig, the messier it gets.
Well, what can I say? The events of the past year have made me a little suspicious.
Even to the people closest to you? Oh, especially them.
We pulled information from Tabal's computer.
Says that, at some point, the internet was connected here.
Ziva's account.
She is tied to this dead man? Who is obviously duplicitous.
Practiced in the art of misinformation.
That appears to be the shape of things.
You're here to question Ziva? All because a series of numbers on a terrorist's computer? I was.
Until you opened the door.
Semper Fi.
You and Leon gotta play nice.
You ordering me to trust him? Just to follow him.
We don't hit our brothers.
Soon as you're done with your drink, Michael, you're under arrest for the murders of Abin Tabal and Federal Agent Tom Sherman.
Good luck with that.
Enough! - Don't do it.
- No.
Don't!