NCIS s07e13 Episode Script
Jet Lag
Ay, Dios mio.
Mr.
Parsons, this time it's going to cost you extra.
Hello? Mr.
Parsons? Maldiga gato! What are you doing in there? Mr.
Parsons.
NCIS Season 7 Episode 13 Jet Lag 1.
0 LOL Rereading: Bruno & Magic Turtle.
Hello, Director.
Agents DiNozzo and David.
They were supposed to contact me before they left with our witness.
- I should have gotten a call by now.
- Yeah, their flight was delayed.
Are you sure about that? Paris can be very hard to leave.
Not for them.
No.
Tony and Ziva don't like traveling together much.
Actually, they don't like doing much of anything together.
I think it's safe to say that they're not enjoying themselves very much.
SECNAV wants that witness here by tomorrow morning.
Where the hell are they? Bonjour, McGee.
Everything's fine.
We are leaving for the airport as soon as Tony returns from seeing the sights.
Here.
Finally.
Okay, McGee.
Au revoir.
Tell McGee I love Paree! Why don't you tell him yourself when we get back.
We must pick up our witness at the embassy.
Come on.
Hold your horses.
One day just isn't enough in this town, is it? I get why artists love it.
Something about the light.
Picasso, Rodin.
Cancan girls at the Moulin Rouge.
This is not a vacation, Tony.
But it is a beautiful day.
Why are you in such a pleasant mood? What's wrong with you? I slept well last night.
Why, didn't you? You certainly looked comfy enough.
Paris.
France.
It's really not what I thought it would be.
You know? Of course, all I had to go on was a French arms dealer and his rather fetching daughter.
C'est la vie.
That's French for something.
"That's life".
Let's go.
Vite, vite.
Après vous.
Here we go.
Hop on.
I'm getting pretty good at this.
Flight is scheduled to depart Paris at 16:30.
Keep me posted.
Grab your stuff.
We're going on a trip of our own.
Someplace exotic? Oh, yeah Downtown.
- Just the two of us, Boss? - Nope.
You, me, Ducky, and a dead Marine.
Sergeant Mark Parsons.
Marine Special Ops Command.
I feel it only appropriate, that in Agent DiNozzo's absence, I make an observation about this unique crime scene.
Go for it, Duck.
A terrified Janet Leigh.
And the inability to enter the shower for several weeks.
It's a reference to the film Psycho.
- There, feel better now? - Yeah.
Yes, apart from these feline scratches, I see no obvious signs of trauma.
Got a time of death? Rigor has resolved itself.
Postmortem lividity is fixed, and I see several fly ova in his nostrils and ears.
Ergo, this man succumbed between 36 and 48 hours ago.
Killer got a head start.
No doubt that was the intention.
The sodium silicate in crystal-based kitty litter is a very effective odor absorber, thereby preventing the smell from alerting the neighbors.
Apart from the housekeeper, he might have lain there, undiscovered, for days.
Time to change the box.
I finished processing the rest of the condo.
No signs of a struggle.
And there were quite a few high-dollar items left out in plain sight.
- Not a robbery.
- Which begs another mystery.
Yeah, how does an E-5 Marine making three grand a month managed to live like this? Precisely.
You know, I did find a safe bolted inside a living room cabinet.
Let's go.
Let's open it.
Seat 9-A.
Finally, I'll get to catch up on my reading.
For a whistle-blower on a major defense fraud scam, you seem awfully relaxed.
I have faith in you to protect me.
Most of our material witnesses are frightened parasites.
I wish all the people we dealt with were as nice as you.
I'm nice.
I just came across a wrong in the world that I could help make right.
We're protecting Hayley Mills.
You know, Pollyanna.
Disney classic with a happy ending.
I like those.
Tony prefers Bambi, where the mother dies.
And I'm not the nice one? That must be him.
Excuse me? NCIS.
Been looking for you.
I'm Agent David.
That is Agent DiNozzo.
And she is our witness.
Federal Air Marshal Art Neeley.
I already got a head count and I cross-checked the passenger list with federal offender databases.
All clear for takeoff.
We've been cleared to leave the gate.
We'll be getting under way just as soon as everyone's in their seat, with their seat belt fastened.
Thank you.
If you wouldn't mind taking your seat, - we're ready to pull away.
- I'm also ready for my hot towel.
First class only, sir.
Sorry.
And they say the stimulus is working.
Real friendly.
Up here in first class.
Oh, sorry, business.
Business class.
All right, I think we're ready.
What do we got? Watches.
Beautiful ones.
These look very expensive, Boss.
The folders, McGee.
Ah, yes.
Newspaper clippings.
All pertaining to a murder investigation in New York City.
The death of real estate mogul Sam Thoresen six months ago.
Home invasion, nothing was stolen.
NYPD suspected a professional hit.
Case is still unsolved.
He was tracking the investigation.
Why? And why keep it locked in the safe? Making sure he got away clean.
NYPD was right.
You thinking our dead Marine was moonlighting as a hit man? Or he had a new assignment.
Passport information.
Employment records.
Bank statements.
Unused round-trip ticket to Paris.
Same flight Tony and Ziva are on.
This isn't a scrapbook, it's a dossier.
On his new target.
Nora Williams.
Our whistle-blower.
Our dead guy was going to kill her.
Sergeant Mark Parsons.
Members of his Special Ops team all said that he was a good Marine, but a loner.
No family.
No close friends.
Apparently, our Marine-turned-hit man really kept to himself.
The nature of the business.
Parsons was on leave when the real estate mogul was shot in New York.
If ballistics match the gun we found in his safe, we've solved that case.
Too bad it's not ours.
Well, Abby's processing his prepaid burn phone.
Could lead us to whoever hired him to kill our witness.
Or who killed him.
Parsons' dossier on Nora Williams.
He knew she was living in Paris and that we were sent to escort her back here.
Guy did his homework.
He had all of Nora's medical records, phone records, info on family, friends.
Fiancé.
Daniel Sturgis.
They are supposed to be married in three months.
I'm going to need to talk to him.
He's already on his way.
It's the Paris case file on Nora's testimony.
I tried to talk Nora out of testifying against Beringer, but she has this, infectious outlook on life that Ray Beringer's her boss.
Owner of Beringer Marine Incorporated.
I told her not a guy you want to cross.
- You also work for him.
- At our DC headquarters, here on the Navy Yard.
Nora and I met in the accounting department, before she was transferred to the Paris branch.
Where she found the evidence that Beringer was bilking the Navy.
For millions.
When a Navy fleet makes port in a foreign country, any needed repairs are done by a local maintenance company.
Beringer Marine is a major port presence.
At the receiving end of a lot of contracts.
Navy was paying for repairs that weren't even requested.
Until Nora found documents proving that Beringer was behind the whole thing.
Unfortunately, those documents disappeared.
The only evidence that we have is Nora's good memory.
Risking something coming here.
We got nothing on Beringer without her testimony.
Which is why we'll make sure that nothing happens to her.
Well, can't you just arrest him now? For hiring someone to kill her.
Beringer doesn't know anything about Nora's testimony or the case against him.
It's still under wraps until she meets with the U.
S.
Attorney.
He must have found out somehow.
That's difficult to prove.
Our best agents are with her.
I hope so.
She just wants to do what's right.
Just sort of feel like you can use negative space to push the image, you know? Sort of like a geometrical thing with the light coming across.
I was trying to use these sort of geometric lines and spacing.
Sometimes I think maybe I should have done something more creative with my life.
No, I think you're in the right profession.
All right, Annie Leibovitz.
- What's wrong with my pictures? - Okay, McGee, got it.
Bye.
Well, they're sort of soulless, analytical.
They look like - postcards or - Crime scene photos.
You just need people in them.
Happy people.
Living people.
Otherwise, they're just buildings.
Didn't you and Ziva go sightseeing together? We had enough "together".
We shared a flight and a hotel room.
It was the only one available.
That's how me and my fiancé met.
On the job, traveling on business.
Rule #12.
What's rule #12? Our boss he has a list of rules.
Rule #12 says you should never date a coworker.
- My understanding can't be done.
- Should not be done.
How do you and your fiancé make it work? You two looking for advice? No way.
We do not always get along.
Ever.
So, what was the phone call all about? Gibbs and McGee are working on a case.
Why are they calling us? In the air? Does it have to do with me? Is something wrong? Not anymore.
Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
That's where Daniel proposed to me.
I'm gonna miss Paris, but at least going to DC means I get to see him.
Gaston Leroux came up with the idea for The Phantom of the Opera when the counterweight of the great chandelier came crashing down and crushed a female patron.
The grand and noble facade of the Paris Opera House, hiding a dark and ignoble secret within.
Not unlike this fellow, Jethro.
Honorable Marine masquerading as a hit man.
Other way around, Duck.
- You got any more metaphors? - Well, Leroux's book is full of them.
He explores the dichotomy between life and death, truth and falsehood.
- You got one.
- Well, like the phantom, this man's body also masks a deformation.
- You found the cause of death? - Indeed.
A fractured C-1 and 2 vertebrae.
Broke his neck? There's an absence of defensive wounds.
These fractures were caused by a single, deliberate move.
Killer was precise? And practiced.
Whoever killed our Marine hit man was also a trained professional.
Thanks, Duck.
Yeah, it's a long time since I visited Paris.
Or went to the theater, for that matter.
You asking me on a date, Duck? Can I come, too? - I'm on my way, Abs.
- I know, I know, but this couldn't wait.
After processing everything from our dead guy's condo, I found extra nothing.
All totally wiped down.
Almost like it was A pro job? Yeah, I know.
But I ran the burn phone from Parsons' safe.
He only received one call from one number.
I traced it to a residence in Bethesda.
Give me a name.
That's what I couldn't wait to tell you.
The number belongs to Holly Snow.
The Holly Snow.
Hello? So you've heard of me, Agent McGee? Yes, yes, I have.
By reputation and a few headlines.
You are DC madam to the rich and powerful.
Talented, too.
At avoiding arrest.
You flatter me.
When did the love business turn into the death business? Excuse me? Four days ago, you made a call to Sergeant Mark Parsons.
- It was right before he was murdered.
- A hit.
Killed by a pro.
I had nothing to do with his death.
Yeah, we know that, but you did hire him to kill Nora Williams.
Got a search warrant for your office.
We found an online pay account linking you to several known or suspected hit men.
This time, you were paying for their services.
To kill.
- Once a contractor - Listen, I'm a matchmaker.
I connect people online.
I never know what service is being provided.
I never ask.
You think a jury's gonna believe that? - All this money for sex.
- It's not my money.
I'm not responsible for You're an accessory to murder.
You're providing a service.
You're more than responsible.
Who wanted Nora Williams dead? Look, I don't know names.
But I can give you the account that they used to wire me the money.
Half a million dollars.
The numbers.
I don't give it away, Agent Gibbs.
My services cost.
- I'll take a plea deal.
- I didn't offer one.
Well, I suggest you do.
You might want to be quick about it.
Why is that? You said Parsons was killed by another pro.
I can think of 500,000 reasons why that might be.
These contracts are not exclusive.
Render the service, reap the reward.
And, people can be competitive.
A hit man killed a hit man.
So, whoever gets the kill gets the cash.
Okay, understood.
Thank you, Gibbs.
Homeland Security officers will be waiting for us when we land.
Outside the terminal, an NCIS security detail will take over.
Not taking any chances, in case your new hit man tries something on the ground? Which is why we must consider the possibility that they may try something on the plane, where Nora's more vulnerable.
Any reason to believe they're on board? Stationary target.
Close quarters.
Modern-day Orient Express.
The killer would just need an inconspicuous weapon.
Like what? I've been doing this for a while, and I doubt there's anything Headphone cables make for a perfect garrote.
And plastic silverware is not as safe as you may think.
I once killed a man using a credit card.
I have been watching a guy.
Row 16.
Couple of rows behind that girl knitting.
Aisle seat, he's got his earphones on.
Manifest listed him as Steven Baker.
He's been ignoring the flight attendants and refused anything to eat or drink, but he's gone to the lavatory four times already.
It might be nothing, but We cannot take any chances.
Watch him.
Come on! I just got up.
- You all right? - Yeah.
Look, a Slanket.
She looks comfortable.
Something I am not.
How much longer till we get there? Hours and hours.
Drink, ma'am? No, I don't think so, Mr.
Spock.
Is there a problem, sir? Then can I have some water? That is what this is.
- Bring us some new water.
- Excuse me? I would like you to bring us a fresh bottle of new water, and open it in front of us.
Sorry.
- Got another one for the watch list.
- That one? He's already on it.
Well, merci beaucoup.
Live long and prosper.
Of course.
You think someone's really trying to kill me, don't you? Is that a little bit of rain in your sunny worldview, Mary Poppins? Revealing the true nature of the world isn't going to change who I am, Agent DiNozzo.
Maybe it's 'cause I'm in love, but I don't think people are bad at heart.
U.
S.
Attorney's Office is dragging their feet on a Holly Snow deal.
Why? Higher-ups don't like being get into bed with someone who keeps a black book.
- Might be opening up a can of worms.
- Let's talk about murder.
We'll get it.
She's asking for the world, and they'll get it.
- It takes time.
- Out of time.
That flight lands, I want to know who we're looking for.
McGee, go.
Well, assuming that our new hit man has the same flight information our dead hit man had, been running background on every passenger on the plane.
And? No red flags, but there is one problem.
- Air Marshal.
- Art Neeley.
He was not originally assigned to the flight.
Requested an earlier departure from Paris.
TSA denied the request, so he switched duty assignments with someone else.
Really wanted to be on this particular flight.
- Four days ago, where was he? - According to his flight schedule, Air Marshal Neeley was in DC - when Sergeant Parsons was murdered.
- Get Ziva on the phone.
If Neeley is involved, we don't want to spook the only other guy on that plane that's got a gun.
I think you got the wrong bag.
You have a good eye.
Ziva, I found your book.
Thank you.
Still studying American history? I just finished The Twilight Saga.
I've been suggesting it to her.
It's very romantic.
Excuse me.
I just finished book four if you want to borrow it.
Team Edward.
Everything okay? Not really.
She picked his pocket.
One of the good guys might not be.
Honey.
Call Abby, ask her to run Neeley's incoming and outgoing calls.
On it, bossy.
What? You guys say you don't get along, but you make a great team.
It is not always so smooth, believe me.
She's usually much snarkier.
I think Paris changed her.
Boss, I just got a call from Navy Yard security.
There's been an incident at Beringer Marine.
What happened? Nora's fiancé Daniel attacked Ray Beringer.
I lost my temper.
You took some candy-cane cheap shot at our prime suspect.
- It wasn't smart.
- I'm sorry.
After a staff meeting, Beringer pulled me aside and made a crack about Nora, about her taking vacation time.
- He's taunting me, Agent Gibbs.
- Maybe.
It proves that he knows about Nora, right? This should help you.
He's the one who hired someone to kill her.
You need to go home and let us do our job.
It's just I I feel helpless.
Kid's lucky I don't kick his ass to the curb.
Base security already handled the situation.
Why is NCIS here? Nora Williams.
What about her? You tell me.
I know she's a great employee and that she's sleeping with that naive jerk who just clocked me.
Like I told security, it was just a joke.
I like jokes.
Nora works for me at our Paris office.
I heard she was taking some vacation time.
Now, accountants are supposed to be good with figures, right? So I asked Daniel if he was going to get a chance to use hers while she was in town.
I didn't mean anything by it.
Unless I'm missing something here.
The kid's still angry Nora took the transfer to Paris, took it out on me.
Are we done? I got a company to run.
What did Abby find? No connection between our Air Marshal and our dead marine.
I still do not trust him.
We should at least take his weapon.
If we are wrong, we can apologize later.
Where is our federal flyboy? Last time I saw him, he was heading for the restroom.
He has been in there for a while.
Maybe it was that vacuum-packed sushi for dinner.
I'm a little growly myself.
Remain in your seat.
Arty? You get sucked in? - I'm gonna pick the lock.
- There is no need.
His gun is missing.
Is this the queue? Out of order.
Someone made quite a mess in there.
Well, technically, flying still is the safest way to travel.
Tell that to him.
Turns out Neeley was divorced with a 12-year-old daughter.
Requested the earlier flight from Paris to get home in time to see his daughter's school play.
Well, we've got nothing to tie Neeley to the first dead hit man, so why risk murdering an Air Marshal mid-flight? Well, he could have stumbled onto something, got too close to our killer.
Or they just wanted his gun.
Either way Confirms our killer is on that plane.
The closest airport now is Dulles.
They land in two hours.
Heard you spoke to Ray Beringer.
Word travels.
Beringer made a call to SECNAV.
He has the impression that NCIS is investigating him.
You had to shake that tree.
Needed something to drop, Leon.
Then you'll be pleased to know that Holly Snow's plea deal came through.
She's on her way back in.
Ladies and gentleman, if I could have your attention, please.
Due to a mechanical issue, the forward lavatory is out of order.
We ask that you please use one of the other facilities on board.
He's dead? Someone killed him? This is really happening, isn't it? He's on the plane.
So are we.
How did it happen? It is not important.
I'd like to know.
A knitting needle.
They took it from a sleeping passenger and stabbed the Air Marshal in the neck.
You are so direct, so honest, so different from him.
Tony and I have different approaches.
Yet complementary.
You sure you two never? Positive.
Definitely no.
Why do you keep on asking about Tony and I? You're like me and Daniel a good fit.
Besides, Paris is a romantic city, and you guys shared a room, so I I took the couch.
Otherwise, Tony would have whined the entire flight about his his back.
Talk about a nightmare at 20,000 feet.
"There's something on the wing.
"Some thing.
" Classic Shatner doing The Twilight Zone there, Ducky.
I am well aware of that, Anthony.
Well, thank goodness for this in-flight Wi-Fi.
Does this qualify us for mile-high club? Certainly not.
I am surprised to hear that you are not already a member.
I never said I wasn't.
Perhaps if you angled me over and down a bit, - I could get a better view of his neck.
- All right.
Roger, dodger, you got that? The use of the knitting needle was both crude and effective.
He was aiming for the space between the cervical vertebrae in an endeavor, no doubt, to sever the spinal cord.
- Death would have been quick.
- And silent.
He could have unlocked the door, jabbed in the needle and disappeared with a minimum of fuss.
If only we had high resolution, I could confirm that hypothesis.
All right, hold on one second, Ducky.
I've got an idea.
Here we go.
You know, it looks like there's a partial print on that needle.
My memory card's full.
That means I have to delete some of my photos from Paris.
If you have any of that pyramid outside the Louvre, delete them.
That glass monstrosity is an offense to good taste.
It's like Sophie's Choice.
"I can't choose.
" Doubt our hit man thought we could process a mid-flight crime scene.
Need the advantage, Abs.
Sorry.
It's kitty litter.
That stuff gets everywhere.
I haven't had time to clean up yet.
See? What do you got? I have a bloody partial print from the knitting needle.
- Can you use it? - Well, it's not your typical method of processing a print.
I have the added work of enhancing the photo and then translating the image into a format that AFIS can understand before I can even begin to search for a hit.
Yeah, I'll be right up.
- Holly Snow.
- Can I go? No.
Print.
The account clients used to send you the money, let's have it.
W- what, no foreplay, no seduction? - My deal came through, then.
- Just needs a judge's signature.
Why don't you come back when you have it? Deal's done.
United States Attorney approved.
You like it rough, don't you? There's a time and a place for everything, Holly.
I thought so.
I'm usually pretty good at reading people.
What they respond to.
Role-play? Too bad.
Want to help out the next victim? 'Cause if she dies this deal goes away.
And we add another charge.
Murder.
I can read people, too.
Account number.
How can she sleep now? - To escape.
- Row 16.
Isn't that the guy Neeley said was acting strange? Excuse me.
Sir.
Stop.
Move again, and I'll break it.
Federal agents.
Everybody relax.
- Return to your SkyMall.
- What the hell are you doing? What are you doing? I was just changing the battery in my CD player when I dropped one.
It rolled under the seats.
Nobody buys CDs anymore.
You have been acting strange the entire flight.
Yes, well, I am a bit angry.
First, the airline refused to seat me next to my wife, and then no one would move when I asked them to switch.
Selfish jerks! Relax, Battery Boy.
Hold on.
Here you go.
Why don't you return to your seat.
- What's wrong? - Everybody, stay calm.
Tony, she's in trouble! Oh, my God.
Is this what I think it is? How did the killer get to her? Autopsy.
Ducky, we've got a situation with our witness.
Anthony, I can barely hear you.
The reception's terrible.
You still on that plane? Yeah.
It's Nora.
She's had some kind of reaction.
It's bad.
What's her condition? Describe the symptoms.
She was sleeping, and then She woke up.
She was coughing and wheezing.
She collapsed.
Her lips are blue and she's barely breathing.
Are her lips and tongue swollen? You think it's poison? No.
It sounds to me like a severe allergic reaction - causing anaphylaxis.
- An allergy? She needs an injection of Epinephrine, and quickly.
We need an EpiPen.
Her breathing's getting worse.
There isn't one here.
Here.
Take mine.
Tony, stop.
Can we trust him? I mean, what if this whole thing is just We don't have a choice.
Tony, what's happened? Is there any change? Ducky the swelling's going down.
Good.
Now, it's important that you keep her on oxygen and monitor her breathing until you land.
Ducky, how did this happen? She has not eaten anything.
Tony said she was sleeping.
Yes, we have been with her the entire time.
Did she touch anything? No, just a pillow.
Nuts.
- Nothing? - No, nuts.
The pillow has been lined with peanut dust.
She must have inhaled it when she slept.
That can be a virulent allergy.
Your assailant clearly has done his due diligence.
Excuse me.
Which flight attendant gave her the pillow? I got a match, Gibbs, on the bloody partial print.
It belongs to one of the flight attendants.
Tiffany Chase.
And her flight schedule shows that she was in DC the day that Parsons was killed in his condo.
- Bank records? - That's not really my forte, but Tony and Ziva are gone, and McGee's been really busy, so All right.
I found periodic deposits, and big ones.
All from anonymous online accounts.
These are contract payouts.
I don't know if this is her first in-flight murder, but it looks like Tiffany Chase has been using her airline job to cover travel and kill people, and split town from anywhere in the world.
Another killer with a day job.
Call Tony.
Yeah, Boss, I ran the number that Holly Snow gave us.
It's an offshore account.
Last deposit was made four days ago.
- Half a million.
Money is still there.
- Who paid to have Nora killed? Tracked the cash back to Beringer Marine.
An account that only two have access to: Nora Williams and Ray Beringer himself.
We're about to start our final descent into Washington.
Please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts securely.
Flight crew, prepare the cabin for arrival.
Serving dinner again? It wasn't that good the first time.
Is that where you hid the Air Marshal's gun? Talk about snakes on a plane.
I'll take that hot towel now.
Excuse me.
I'm in the middle of a conference call.
I talked to the Secretary of the Navy.
There's some misunderstanding in this investigation.
Investigation's over.
You're under arrest.
- Put your hands behind your back.
- For what?! Hiring someone to kill Nora Williams.
Money was transferred from this company.
- You're the only one with access to it.
- I never hired anyone - I thought this was about fraud.
- That's why you needed Nora dead.
She was the only other person with access to the account.
Well, arrest her, then.
You can check the log.
I never transferred any money.
So, what, Nora put a hit on herself? Hey, Daniel! Stop! I'm gonna call an ambulance.
Boss? Boss, are you okay? Did you Did you hit your shoulder? The car did, McGee.
Cuff him.
They're taking her out now.
Flight attendants will never be the same.
- How are you feeling? - Better.
Thank you.
Both.
So you still want to testify after all of this? Of course.
You guys did your part.
Now I have to do mine.
Yup, got it, boss.
Right.
I told you I liked happy endings.
I can't wait to see Daniel after all this.
About that Champ du Mars.
Bogey and Bergman will always have Paris.
Now, so will we.
I guess Nora won't, seeing as her own fiancé used company money to try and have her killed.
That's got to sting.
Yeah, Nora's testimony was going to expose him, too.
Beringer stole from the Navy.
Daniel stole from Beringer.
- How did she take it, by the way? - Pretty hard, even for her.
Rule #12.
Hey, Boss.
How's the shoulder? Boy, McGee, when you blow it, you blow it big.
DiNozzo, it was an accident.
MTAC, McGee.
Yes, Boss.
Hey, in Paris, who got stuck with the couch? Me.
We flipped a coin.
Well, tough break.
Why did you just lie to McGee? Why did you lie to Nora? Nora was right.
Found my favorite picture, and it's the only one with someone in it.
Very French New Wave, don't you think? Maybe.
I think it would look better in black-and-white.
Mr.
Parsons, this time it's going to cost you extra.
Hello? Mr.
Parsons? Maldiga gato! What are you doing in there? Mr.
Parsons.
NCIS Season 7 Episode 13 Jet Lag 1.
0 LOL Rereading: Bruno & Magic Turtle.
Hello, Director.
Agents DiNozzo and David.
They were supposed to contact me before they left with our witness.
- I should have gotten a call by now.
- Yeah, their flight was delayed.
Are you sure about that? Paris can be very hard to leave.
Not for them.
No.
Tony and Ziva don't like traveling together much.
Actually, they don't like doing much of anything together.
I think it's safe to say that they're not enjoying themselves very much.
SECNAV wants that witness here by tomorrow morning.
Where the hell are they? Bonjour, McGee.
Everything's fine.
We are leaving for the airport as soon as Tony returns from seeing the sights.
Here.
Finally.
Okay, McGee.
Au revoir.
Tell McGee I love Paree! Why don't you tell him yourself when we get back.
We must pick up our witness at the embassy.
Come on.
Hold your horses.
One day just isn't enough in this town, is it? I get why artists love it.
Something about the light.
Picasso, Rodin.
Cancan girls at the Moulin Rouge.
This is not a vacation, Tony.
But it is a beautiful day.
Why are you in such a pleasant mood? What's wrong with you? I slept well last night.
Why, didn't you? You certainly looked comfy enough.
Paris.
France.
It's really not what I thought it would be.
You know? Of course, all I had to go on was a French arms dealer and his rather fetching daughter.
C'est la vie.
That's French for something.
"That's life".
Let's go.
Vite, vite.
Après vous.
Here we go.
Hop on.
I'm getting pretty good at this.
Flight is scheduled to depart Paris at 16:30.
Keep me posted.
Grab your stuff.
We're going on a trip of our own.
Someplace exotic? Oh, yeah Downtown.
- Just the two of us, Boss? - Nope.
You, me, Ducky, and a dead Marine.
Sergeant Mark Parsons.
Marine Special Ops Command.
I feel it only appropriate, that in Agent DiNozzo's absence, I make an observation about this unique crime scene.
Go for it, Duck.
A terrified Janet Leigh.
And the inability to enter the shower for several weeks.
It's a reference to the film Psycho.
- There, feel better now? - Yeah.
Yes, apart from these feline scratches, I see no obvious signs of trauma.
Got a time of death? Rigor has resolved itself.
Postmortem lividity is fixed, and I see several fly ova in his nostrils and ears.
Ergo, this man succumbed between 36 and 48 hours ago.
Killer got a head start.
No doubt that was the intention.
The sodium silicate in crystal-based kitty litter is a very effective odor absorber, thereby preventing the smell from alerting the neighbors.
Apart from the housekeeper, he might have lain there, undiscovered, for days.
Time to change the box.
I finished processing the rest of the condo.
No signs of a struggle.
And there were quite a few high-dollar items left out in plain sight.
- Not a robbery.
- Which begs another mystery.
Yeah, how does an E-5 Marine making three grand a month managed to live like this? Precisely.
You know, I did find a safe bolted inside a living room cabinet.
Let's go.
Let's open it.
Seat 9-A.
Finally, I'll get to catch up on my reading.
For a whistle-blower on a major defense fraud scam, you seem awfully relaxed.
I have faith in you to protect me.
Most of our material witnesses are frightened parasites.
I wish all the people we dealt with were as nice as you.
I'm nice.
I just came across a wrong in the world that I could help make right.
We're protecting Hayley Mills.
You know, Pollyanna.
Disney classic with a happy ending.
I like those.
Tony prefers Bambi, where the mother dies.
And I'm not the nice one? That must be him.
Excuse me? NCIS.
Been looking for you.
I'm Agent David.
That is Agent DiNozzo.
And she is our witness.
Federal Air Marshal Art Neeley.
I already got a head count and I cross-checked the passenger list with federal offender databases.
All clear for takeoff.
We've been cleared to leave the gate.
We'll be getting under way just as soon as everyone's in their seat, with their seat belt fastened.
Thank you.
If you wouldn't mind taking your seat, - we're ready to pull away.
- I'm also ready for my hot towel.
First class only, sir.
Sorry.
And they say the stimulus is working.
Real friendly.
Up here in first class.
Oh, sorry, business.
Business class.
All right, I think we're ready.
What do we got? Watches.
Beautiful ones.
These look very expensive, Boss.
The folders, McGee.
Ah, yes.
Newspaper clippings.
All pertaining to a murder investigation in New York City.
The death of real estate mogul Sam Thoresen six months ago.
Home invasion, nothing was stolen.
NYPD suspected a professional hit.
Case is still unsolved.
He was tracking the investigation.
Why? And why keep it locked in the safe? Making sure he got away clean.
NYPD was right.
You thinking our dead Marine was moonlighting as a hit man? Or he had a new assignment.
Passport information.
Employment records.
Bank statements.
Unused round-trip ticket to Paris.
Same flight Tony and Ziva are on.
This isn't a scrapbook, it's a dossier.
On his new target.
Nora Williams.
Our whistle-blower.
Our dead guy was going to kill her.
Sergeant Mark Parsons.
Members of his Special Ops team all said that he was a good Marine, but a loner.
No family.
No close friends.
Apparently, our Marine-turned-hit man really kept to himself.
The nature of the business.
Parsons was on leave when the real estate mogul was shot in New York.
If ballistics match the gun we found in his safe, we've solved that case.
Too bad it's not ours.
Well, Abby's processing his prepaid burn phone.
Could lead us to whoever hired him to kill our witness.
Or who killed him.
Parsons' dossier on Nora Williams.
He knew she was living in Paris and that we were sent to escort her back here.
Guy did his homework.
He had all of Nora's medical records, phone records, info on family, friends.
Fiancé.
Daniel Sturgis.
They are supposed to be married in three months.
I'm going to need to talk to him.
He's already on his way.
It's the Paris case file on Nora's testimony.
I tried to talk Nora out of testifying against Beringer, but she has this, infectious outlook on life that Ray Beringer's her boss.
Owner of Beringer Marine Incorporated.
I told her not a guy you want to cross.
- You also work for him.
- At our DC headquarters, here on the Navy Yard.
Nora and I met in the accounting department, before she was transferred to the Paris branch.
Where she found the evidence that Beringer was bilking the Navy.
For millions.
When a Navy fleet makes port in a foreign country, any needed repairs are done by a local maintenance company.
Beringer Marine is a major port presence.
At the receiving end of a lot of contracts.
Navy was paying for repairs that weren't even requested.
Until Nora found documents proving that Beringer was behind the whole thing.
Unfortunately, those documents disappeared.
The only evidence that we have is Nora's good memory.
Risking something coming here.
We got nothing on Beringer without her testimony.
Which is why we'll make sure that nothing happens to her.
Well, can't you just arrest him now? For hiring someone to kill her.
Beringer doesn't know anything about Nora's testimony or the case against him.
It's still under wraps until she meets with the U.
S.
Attorney.
He must have found out somehow.
That's difficult to prove.
Our best agents are with her.
I hope so.
She just wants to do what's right.
Just sort of feel like you can use negative space to push the image, you know? Sort of like a geometrical thing with the light coming across.
I was trying to use these sort of geometric lines and spacing.
Sometimes I think maybe I should have done something more creative with my life.
No, I think you're in the right profession.
All right, Annie Leibovitz.
- What's wrong with my pictures? - Okay, McGee, got it.
Bye.
Well, they're sort of soulless, analytical.
They look like - postcards or - Crime scene photos.
You just need people in them.
Happy people.
Living people.
Otherwise, they're just buildings.
Didn't you and Ziva go sightseeing together? We had enough "together".
We shared a flight and a hotel room.
It was the only one available.
That's how me and my fiancé met.
On the job, traveling on business.
Rule #12.
What's rule #12? Our boss he has a list of rules.
Rule #12 says you should never date a coworker.
- My understanding can't be done.
- Should not be done.
How do you and your fiancé make it work? You two looking for advice? No way.
We do not always get along.
Ever.
So, what was the phone call all about? Gibbs and McGee are working on a case.
Why are they calling us? In the air? Does it have to do with me? Is something wrong? Not anymore.
Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
That's where Daniel proposed to me.
I'm gonna miss Paris, but at least going to DC means I get to see him.
Gaston Leroux came up with the idea for The Phantom of the Opera when the counterweight of the great chandelier came crashing down and crushed a female patron.
The grand and noble facade of the Paris Opera House, hiding a dark and ignoble secret within.
Not unlike this fellow, Jethro.
Honorable Marine masquerading as a hit man.
Other way around, Duck.
- You got any more metaphors? - Well, Leroux's book is full of them.
He explores the dichotomy between life and death, truth and falsehood.
- You got one.
- Well, like the phantom, this man's body also masks a deformation.
- You found the cause of death? - Indeed.
A fractured C-1 and 2 vertebrae.
Broke his neck? There's an absence of defensive wounds.
These fractures were caused by a single, deliberate move.
Killer was precise? And practiced.
Whoever killed our Marine hit man was also a trained professional.
Thanks, Duck.
Yeah, it's a long time since I visited Paris.
Or went to the theater, for that matter.
You asking me on a date, Duck? Can I come, too? - I'm on my way, Abs.
- I know, I know, but this couldn't wait.
After processing everything from our dead guy's condo, I found extra nothing.
All totally wiped down.
Almost like it was A pro job? Yeah, I know.
But I ran the burn phone from Parsons' safe.
He only received one call from one number.
I traced it to a residence in Bethesda.
Give me a name.
That's what I couldn't wait to tell you.
The number belongs to Holly Snow.
The Holly Snow.
Hello? So you've heard of me, Agent McGee? Yes, yes, I have.
By reputation and a few headlines.
You are DC madam to the rich and powerful.
Talented, too.
At avoiding arrest.
You flatter me.
When did the love business turn into the death business? Excuse me? Four days ago, you made a call to Sergeant Mark Parsons.
- It was right before he was murdered.
- A hit.
Killed by a pro.
I had nothing to do with his death.
Yeah, we know that, but you did hire him to kill Nora Williams.
Got a search warrant for your office.
We found an online pay account linking you to several known or suspected hit men.
This time, you were paying for their services.
To kill.
- Once a contractor - Listen, I'm a matchmaker.
I connect people online.
I never know what service is being provided.
I never ask.
You think a jury's gonna believe that? - All this money for sex.
- It's not my money.
I'm not responsible for You're an accessory to murder.
You're providing a service.
You're more than responsible.
Who wanted Nora Williams dead? Look, I don't know names.
But I can give you the account that they used to wire me the money.
Half a million dollars.
The numbers.
I don't give it away, Agent Gibbs.
My services cost.
- I'll take a plea deal.
- I didn't offer one.
Well, I suggest you do.
You might want to be quick about it.
Why is that? You said Parsons was killed by another pro.
I can think of 500,000 reasons why that might be.
These contracts are not exclusive.
Render the service, reap the reward.
And, people can be competitive.
A hit man killed a hit man.
So, whoever gets the kill gets the cash.
Okay, understood.
Thank you, Gibbs.
Homeland Security officers will be waiting for us when we land.
Outside the terminal, an NCIS security detail will take over.
Not taking any chances, in case your new hit man tries something on the ground? Which is why we must consider the possibility that they may try something on the plane, where Nora's more vulnerable.
Any reason to believe they're on board? Stationary target.
Close quarters.
Modern-day Orient Express.
The killer would just need an inconspicuous weapon.
Like what? I've been doing this for a while, and I doubt there's anything Headphone cables make for a perfect garrote.
And plastic silverware is not as safe as you may think.
I once killed a man using a credit card.
I have been watching a guy.
Row 16.
Couple of rows behind that girl knitting.
Aisle seat, he's got his earphones on.
Manifest listed him as Steven Baker.
He's been ignoring the flight attendants and refused anything to eat or drink, but he's gone to the lavatory four times already.
It might be nothing, but We cannot take any chances.
Watch him.
Come on! I just got up.
- You all right? - Yeah.
Look, a Slanket.
She looks comfortable.
Something I am not.
How much longer till we get there? Hours and hours.
Drink, ma'am? No, I don't think so, Mr.
Spock.
Is there a problem, sir? Then can I have some water? That is what this is.
- Bring us some new water.
- Excuse me? I would like you to bring us a fresh bottle of new water, and open it in front of us.
Sorry.
- Got another one for the watch list.
- That one? He's already on it.
Well, merci beaucoup.
Live long and prosper.
Of course.
You think someone's really trying to kill me, don't you? Is that a little bit of rain in your sunny worldview, Mary Poppins? Revealing the true nature of the world isn't going to change who I am, Agent DiNozzo.
Maybe it's 'cause I'm in love, but I don't think people are bad at heart.
U.
S.
Attorney's Office is dragging their feet on a Holly Snow deal.
Why? Higher-ups don't like being get into bed with someone who keeps a black book.
- Might be opening up a can of worms.
- Let's talk about murder.
We'll get it.
She's asking for the world, and they'll get it.
- It takes time.
- Out of time.
That flight lands, I want to know who we're looking for.
McGee, go.
Well, assuming that our new hit man has the same flight information our dead hit man had, been running background on every passenger on the plane.
And? No red flags, but there is one problem.
- Air Marshal.
- Art Neeley.
He was not originally assigned to the flight.
Requested an earlier departure from Paris.
TSA denied the request, so he switched duty assignments with someone else.
Really wanted to be on this particular flight.
- Four days ago, where was he? - According to his flight schedule, Air Marshal Neeley was in DC - when Sergeant Parsons was murdered.
- Get Ziva on the phone.
If Neeley is involved, we don't want to spook the only other guy on that plane that's got a gun.
I think you got the wrong bag.
You have a good eye.
Ziva, I found your book.
Thank you.
Still studying American history? I just finished The Twilight Saga.
I've been suggesting it to her.
It's very romantic.
Excuse me.
I just finished book four if you want to borrow it.
Team Edward.
Everything okay? Not really.
She picked his pocket.
One of the good guys might not be.
Honey.
Call Abby, ask her to run Neeley's incoming and outgoing calls.
On it, bossy.
What? You guys say you don't get along, but you make a great team.
It is not always so smooth, believe me.
She's usually much snarkier.
I think Paris changed her.
Boss, I just got a call from Navy Yard security.
There's been an incident at Beringer Marine.
What happened? Nora's fiancé Daniel attacked Ray Beringer.
I lost my temper.
You took some candy-cane cheap shot at our prime suspect.
- It wasn't smart.
- I'm sorry.
After a staff meeting, Beringer pulled me aside and made a crack about Nora, about her taking vacation time.
- He's taunting me, Agent Gibbs.
- Maybe.
It proves that he knows about Nora, right? This should help you.
He's the one who hired someone to kill her.
You need to go home and let us do our job.
It's just I I feel helpless.
Kid's lucky I don't kick his ass to the curb.
Base security already handled the situation.
Why is NCIS here? Nora Williams.
What about her? You tell me.
I know she's a great employee and that she's sleeping with that naive jerk who just clocked me.
Like I told security, it was just a joke.
I like jokes.
Nora works for me at our Paris office.
I heard she was taking some vacation time.
Now, accountants are supposed to be good with figures, right? So I asked Daniel if he was going to get a chance to use hers while she was in town.
I didn't mean anything by it.
Unless I'm missing something here.
The kid's still angry Nora took the transfer to Paris, took it out on me.
Are we done? I got a company to run.
What did Abby find? No connection between our Air Marshal and our dead marine.
I still do not trust him.
We should at least take his weapon.
If we are wrong, we can apologize later.
Where is our federal flyboy? Last time I saw him, he was heading for the restroom.
He has been in there for a while.
Maybe it was that vacuum-packed sushi for dinner.
I'm a little growly myself.
Remain in your seat.
Arty? You get sucked in? - I'm gonna pick the lock.
- There is no need.
His gun is missing.
Is this the queue? Out of order.
Someone made quite a mess in there.
Well, technically, flying still is the safest way to travel.
Tell that to him.
Turns out Neeley was divorced with a 12-year-old daughter.
Requested the earlier flight from Paris to get home in time to see his daughter's school play.
Well, we've got nothing to tie Neeley to the first dead hit man, so why risk murdering an Air Marshal mid-flight? Well, he could have stumbled onto something, got too close to our killer.
Or they just wanted his gun.
Either way Confirms our killer is on that plane.
The closest airport now is Dulles.
They land in two hours.
Heard you spoke to Ray Beringer.
Word travels.
Beringer made a call to SECNAV.
He has the impression that NCIS is investigating him.
You had to shake that tree.
Needed something to drop, Leon.
Then you'll be pleased to know that Holly Snow's plea deal came through.
She's on her way back in.
Ladies and gentleman, if I could have your attention, please.
Due to a mechanical issue, the forward lavatory is out of order.
We ask that you please use one of the other facilities on board.
He's dead? Someone killed him? This is really happening, isn't it? He's on the plane.
So are we.
How did it happen? It is not important.
I'd like to know.
A knitting needle.
They took it from a sleeping passenger and stabbed the Air Marshal in the neck.
You are so direct, so honest, so different from him.
Tony and I have different approaches.
Yet complementary.
You sure you two never? Positive.
Definitely no.
Why do you keep on asking about Tony and I? You're like me and Daniel a good fit.
Besides, Paris is a romantic city, and you guys shared a room, so I I took the couch.
Otherwise, Tony would have whined the entire flight about his his back.
Talk about a nightmare at 20,000 feet.
"There's something on the wing.
"Some thing.
" Classic Shatner doing The Twilight Zone there, Ducky.
I am well aware of that, Anthony.
Well, thank goodness for this in-flight Wi-Fi.
Does this qualify us for mile-high club? Certainly not.
I am surprised to hear that you are not already a member.
I never said I wasn't.
Perhaps if you angled me over and down a bit, - I could get a better view of his neck.
- All right.
Roger, dodger, you got that? The use of the knitting needle was both crude and effective.
He was aiming for the space between the cervical vertebrae in an endeavor, no doubt, to sever the spinal cord.
- Death would have been quick.
- And silent.
He could have unlocked the door, jabbed in the needle and disappeared with a minimum of fuss.
If only we had high resolution, I could confirm that hypothesis.
All right, hold on one second, Ducky.
I've got an idea.
Here we go.
You know, it looks like there's a partial print on that needle.
My memory card's full.
That means I have to delete some of my photos from Paris.
If you have any of that pyramid outside the Louvre, delete them.
That glass monstrosity is an offense to good taste.
It's like Sophie's Choice.
"I can't choose.
" Doubt our hit man thought we could process a mid-flight crime scene.
Need the advantage, Abs.
Sorry.
It's kitty litter.
That stuff gets everywhere.
I haven't had time to clean up yet.
See? What do you got? I have a bloody partial print from the knitting needle.
- Can you use it? - Well, it's not your typical method of processing a print.
I have the added work of enhancing the photo and then translating the image into a format that AFIS can understand before I can even begin to search for a hit.
Yeah, I'll be right up.
- Holly Snow.
- Can I go? No.
Print.
The account clients used to send you the money, let's have it.
W- what, no foreplay, no seduction? - My deal came through, then.
- Just needs a judge's signature.
Why don't you come back when you have it? Deal's done.
United States Attorney approved.
You like it rough, don't you? There's a time and a place for everything, Holly.
I thought so.
I'm usually pretty good at reading people.
What they respond to.
Role-play? Too bad.
Want to help out the next victim? 'Cause if she dies this deal goes away.
And we add another charge.
Murder.
I can read people, too.
Account number.
How can she sleep now? - To escape.
- Row 16.
Isn't that the guy Neeley said was acting strange? Excuse me.
Sir.
Stop.
Move again, and I'll break it.
Federal agents.
Everybody relax.
- Return to your SkyMall.
- What the hell are you doing? What are you doing? I was just changing the battery in my CD player when I dropped one.
It rolled under the seats.
Nobody buys CDs anymore.
You have been acting strange the entire flight.
Yes, well, I am a bit angry.
First, the airline refused to seat me next to my wife, and then no one would move when I asked them to switch.
Selfish jerks! Relax, Battery Boy.
Hold on.
Here you go.
Why don't you return to your seat.
- What's wrong? - Everybody, stay calm.
Tony, she's in trouble! Oh, my God.
Is this what I think it is? How did the killer get to her? Autopsy.
Ducky, we've got a situation with our witness.
Anthony, I can barely hear you.
The reception's terrible.
You still on that plane? Yeah.
It's Nora.
She's had some kind of reaction.
It's bad.
What's her condition? Describe the symptoms.
She was sleeping, and then She woke up.
She was coughing and wheezing.
She collapsed.
Her lips are blue and she's barely breathing.
Are her lips and tongue swollen? You think it's poison? No.
It sounds to me like a severe allergic reaction - causing anaphylaxis.
- An allergy? She needs an injection of Epinephrine, and quickly.
We need an EpiPen.
Her breathing's getting worse.
There isn't one here.
Here.
Take mine.
Tony, stop.
Can we trust him? I mean, what if this whole thing is just We don't have a choice.
Tony, what's happened? Is there any change? Ducky the swelling's going down.
Good.
Now, it's important that you keep her on oxygen and monitor her breathing until you land.
Ducky, how did this happen? She has not eaten anything.
Tony said she was sleeping.
Yes, we have been with her the entire time.
Did she touch anything? No, just a pillow.
Nuts.
- Nothing? - No, nuts.
The pillow has been lined with peanut dust.
She must have inhaled it when she slept.
That can be a virulent allergy.
Your assailant clearly has done his due diligence.
Excuse me.
Which flight attendant gave her the pillow? I got a match, Gibbs, on the bloody partial print.
It belongs to one of the flight attendants.
Tiffany Chase.
And her flight schedule shows that she was in DC the day that Parsons was killed in his condo.
- Bank records? - That's not really my forte, but Tony and Ziva are gone, and McGee's been really busy, so All right.
I found periodic deposits, and big ones.
All from anonymous online accounts.
These are contract payouts.
I don't know if this is her first in-flight murder, but it looks like Tiffany Chase has been using her airline job to cover travel and kill people, and split town from anywhere in the world.
Another killer with a day job.
Call Tony.
Yeah, Boss, I ran the number that Holly Snow gave us.
It's an offshore account.
Last deposit was made four days ago.
- Half a million.
Money is still there.
- Who paid to have Nora killed? Tracked the cash back to Beringer Marine.
An account that only two have access to: Nora Williams and Ray Beringer himself.
We're about to start our final descent into Washington.
Please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts securely.
Flight crew, prepare the cabin for arrival.
Serving dinner again? It wasn't that good the first time.
Is that where you hid the Air Marshal's gun? Talk about snakes on a plane.
I'll take that hot towel now.
Excuse me.
I'm in the middle of a conference call.
I talked to the Secretary of the Navy.
There's some misunderstanding in this investigation.
Investigation's over.
You're under arrest.
- Put your hands behind your back.
- For what?! Hiring someone to kill Nora Williams.
Money was transferred from this company.
- You're the only one with access to it.
- I never hired anyone - I thought this was about fraud.
- That's why you needed Nora dead.
She was the only other person with access to the account.
Well, arrest her, then.
You can check the log.
I never transferred any money.
So, what, Nora put a hit on herself? Hey, Daniel! Stop! I'm gonna call an ambulance.
Boss? Boss, are you okay? Did you Did you hit your shoulder? The car did, McGee.
Cuff him.
They're taking her out now.
Flight attendants will never be the same.
- How are you feeling? - Better.
Thank you.
Both.
So you still want to testify after all of this? Of course.
You guys did your part.
Now I have to do mine.
Yup, got it, boss.
Right.
I told you I liked happy endings.
I can't wait to see Daniel after all this.
About that Champ du Mars.
Bogey and Bergman will always have Paris.
Now, so will we.
I guess Nora won't, seeing as her own fiancé used company money to try and have her killed.
That's got to sting.
Yeah, Nora's testimony was going to expose him, too.
Beringer stole from the Navy.
Daniel stole from Beringer.
- How did she take it, by the way? - Pretty hard, even for her.
Rule #12.
Hey, Boss.
How's the shoulder? Boy, McGee, when you blow it, you blow it big.
DiNozzo, it was an accident.
MTAC, McGee.
Yes, Boss.
Hey, in Paris, who got stuck with the couch? Me.
We flipped a coin.
Well, tough break.
Why did you just lie to McGee? Why did you lie to Nora? Nora was right.
Found my favorite picture, and it's the only one with someone in it.
Very French New Wave, don't you think? Maybe.
I think it would look better in black-and-white.