[San Pedro. The beach is almost empty; a man is walking, looking around. There are Windsurf boards, he looks at them. He spots something or someone and goes away hastily. He enters the Cabrillo marine aquarium (closed!), tries to hide himself…He’s suddenly garroted. His face is pushed against a glass –and he dies…]
♫ ♫ NCIS: Los Angeles 1x08 ♫ ♫ Ambush ♫ ♫
♫ ♫ Original Air date on November 17, 2009 ♫ ♫
[Sam and G. are upstairs at the office but go down to their desks]
SAM: Positive reinforcement has been proven to work.
CALLEN: I prefer negative reinforcement. Silent treatment, the cold shoulder. You make people squirm, they'll perform.
SAM: It's also an acceptable form of human conduct.
CALLEN: Which I want nothing to do with. You know, like... Im'ing or poppin' and lockin'.
SAM: Whatever. It's still the best operation report you'll ever see, whether you want to admit it or not.
CALLEN: Let me see this. This is nice. Got the color-coded tabs. You got the highlighted bullet points. Wait a minute. Did your mom help you with this?
SAM: I warned you about bringing up my mom. [He grabs back his report]
CALLEN: Very nice. I'm sure Hetty will give you a gold star. I can't wait to see what you do for your science fair project. Maybe we could build a volcano.
SAM: Maybe I should just...
CALLEN: Throw me in one?
SAM: That's not what I was going to say.
RENKO: Well, glad to see you two are closer than ever.
CALLEN: Mike Renko, back from the dead. [They shake hands]
SAM: How was the vacation?
RENKO: Ha. Very funny. Answer me this. How come I'm squatting in a bush for two months smacking bugs while you guys are out cruising the beaches?
CALLEN: I guess you have the face for it.
SAM: You smoke out any bad guys?
RENKO: I've been chasing this militia group. Call themselves ELE. "Enhancing Law Enforcement."
SAM: Mm.
RENKO: Yeah. It's been a tough one, but I finally got an informant. He can help us link them to a couple weapons gone missing from Pendleton.
SAM: Hmm. Looks like you got your bunkmate back, G. Love boat sails again.
RENKO: Not with me on board. No, I'll be staying with a...friend. Right.
CALLEN: Wait a minute. Back in town less than 24 hours, and you're staying with a "friend"? It's...
SAM: Astonishing.
CALLEN: Astonishing that a person of such modest appearances and charm...
SAM: Questionable personal hygiene...Is, you know, wracking up tail like...
ERIC: [Shouting above them] Hetty! Wants you. Upstairs. Oh. She said one point for whoever gets up here first.
[Sam, Renko and G. looks at each other. Callen starts fist, they run up to the OPS center]
[OPS center. They enter, but Hetty isn’t here]
SAM: Are you punking us? 'cause you better not be.
ERIC: No, sir. I would not do that.
RENKO: Then, where is she?
HETTY: [over speaker] I'm everywhere, Mr. Renko. Or have you been on assignment so long you've forgotten?
ERIC: She's in Washington.
[Washington. Hetty gets out of a lift, and speaks on her phone]
HETTY: I apologize for not being with you, but the political world beckons. Of course, our work doesn't stop... while Washington tinkers. So, let's get to it.
[OPS center]
HETTY: [Over speaker] Uh, Mr. Beale, please play the tape. [Eric puts on the screen the face of the man in the aquarium]
HETTY: [over speaker] The man against the glass is a Marine reservist who worked at an armory at Camp Pendleton.
CALLEN: [Callen pushs the off speaker button] Does anybody else think this is weird?
ERIC: Oh yeah. We all think it's weird.
CALLEN: Just checking.
HETTY: Heard that, Mr. Callen.
ERIC: How?
HETTY: Marine Lance Corporal Edward Mackaye. Mackaye was garroted at the Cabrillo marine aquarium. The entire incident was caught on something called a fish-cam, which broadcast 24/7 on the Internet.
SAM: Now, this Mackaye, he's a reservist. Wouldn't that be a case for local PD?
[Washington]
HETTY: I'll leave that for Mr. Renko to explain.
[OPS center]
HETTY: [Over speaker] Case is yours, Mr. Callen.
RENKO: Mackaye wasn't just punching a time card. He was my informant on the weapons case I've been following. I've got it all here.
[He types on his laptop and puts photos on the screen]
RENKO: Over a three-month period, six Dragon antitank missiles disappeared somewhere between the manufacturer and Afghanistan.
[A video shows the effect of this missile]
SAM: Interchangeable warheads. Small, portable, scary as hell.
RENKO: We narrowed it down to an armory at Pendleton. Prime suspect is private Scott Riley. Now, Riley is very smart. We have not been able to hang anything on this guy. Haven't been able to figure out how he got the Dragon off the base. Eric, pull up everything you've got on Mackaye.
ERIC: Yeah.
RENKO: That's when we approached Corporal Mackaye. A good Marine. Stand-up kid. He worked in the armory with Riley. He was supposed to be eyes and ears only. Let us know if Riley was up to anything suspicious.
SAM: And how is this connected to the militia group?
RENKO: We knew ELE was in the market for heavy firepower. I've been trying to track down their base of operations for months, but these guys just keep moving around. Mostly border areas.
SAM: Just like the coyotes.
RENKO: Exactly. Illegals come across, ELE is right there waiting for them. We pulled phone records going back a decade. Turns out our private Riley...
has a history with two of ELE's suspected leaders.
[Renko puts 2 pics on the screen]
RENKO: This is Malcolm Tallridge, the charismatic founder. His number two, John Bordinay. Paranoid nut job.
SAM: Brains and muscle.
ERIC: We think that this is Bordinay behind the gun. This video was leaked onto the web.
[Women and children are running by night. An automatic weapon shoots…aiming the sky. People yell]
RENKO: Last summer, these guys chased 20 people into the desert. All of them died of thirst, including three children.
NATE: It doesn't bother them. The deaths prove their point: the situation's out of control, and they need to engage.
SAM: They claim to be protecting our freedom.
RENKO: We were hoping to lock these guys down before they did something really crazy.
SAM: Like arming themselves with Dragon missiles?
CALLEN: I think maybe they just have.
---------------- ZAPPING ---------------------
[Washington. Capitol]
VANCE: Welcome to DC, Henrietta.
HETTY: Director Vance. Door-to-door service. How out of character.
VANCE: Well, people can change. And I owe you one big-time.
HETTY: You do, especially for forcing me to leave the children in charge.
VANCE: How much trouble can they get into in eight hours?
HETTY: Is that how long I'm going to be here? Good gracious. You told me they had a few questions regarding the security of your slush fund.
VANCE: Think of it more along the lines of a friendly fireside chat, about the efficacy of the funding disbursement process for the federal joint-task force system.
HETTY: Why don't they just throw me in a well and see if I float?
VANCE: This isn't a witch hunt, Hetty.
HETTY: I recall the same thing being said to my predecessor before she disappeared. Last I heard of Macy, she was working out of a Quonset hut in Djibouti.
[San Pedro]
KENSI: Mackaye wouldn't have gone into the aquarium to meet anyone. Not while it was being cleaned. Now, what I'm thinking is...that someone was after him. So, he goes into the aquarium, to hide. Bad guy goes after him, and... splat. Mackaye makes his guest appearance on fish-cam.
CALLEN: So, Riley comes to the beach, our "eyes and ears" follows him.
SAM: Eyes and ears gets made. Bad guy goes rogue, he panics, takes him out.
KENSI: Why would the bad guy be here? I mean, there's no target to attack. People are too spread out, it's far too exposed, and it's...lousy with law enforcement thanks to the port across the way.
CALLEN: Sam?
SAM: Hmm?
CALLEN: Could you fit a Dragon missile into a sail bag?
SAM: With room to spare.
KENSI: What are the chances Riley windsurfs?
[OPS center]
DOM: Security footage from Pendleton. So, Riley leaves the base in his SUV with his windsurfing equipment on the roof rack. And the guards check everything: the front, the back, everything, but they never open the sail bag.
CALLEN: Riley goes to the beach and covers his tracks.
SAM: Or maybe that's where he delivered the weapons. They take his sail bag, he takes theirs. Return to base, repeat step one.
CALLEN: Six times, which is probably why Renko got nowhere.
[Riley’s place]
CALLEN: [over phone] You hearing this, Kensi?
KENSI: Yeah. I'm staring at Riley's rig right now.
[OPS center]
KENSI: [over speakers] Parked outside his apartment.
SAM: Where about Riley?
[[Riley’s place]
KENSI: I haven't seen him yet. You know what? I'm going to go have a sniff around,
[OPS center]
KENSI: [over speakers] see if he's been moving explosives.
[Riley’s place]
[Kensi takes a radiation detector and opens a sail bag on the roof of Riley’s car. Suddenly she’s garroted (grunting). She fights and manages to free herself. Riley takes a blade…Kensi kicks and punches and he lets the knife fall down. They fight again…Kensi is pushed against a car and half-fainted. Riley runs to picks his weapon up but Kensi dives on him. He has the blade in the hand…a foot flattens and blocks it…]
RENKO: Bad idea, Private. You started without me.
KENSI: Oh, god. You wandered off to observe the scenery.
RENKO: I was checking Riley's mailbox. What, no thanks for saving your ass?
KENSI: My ass didn't need saving.
RENKO: Sure it did.
KENSI: I'm pretty sure it didn't. Give me your hands. [To Riley, for cuffing him]
RENKO: If anyone's ass deserves saving, it's yours.
[Kensi freezes…]
[Boathouse. Questioning room. Riley is with Kensi. Renko and Nate watch them on the screen next door]
RILEY: I thought you were stealing my sail.
KENSI: So you garrote me? You whack my head into a car?
RILEY: It's a tough neighborhood. You could have had a friend or a gun. Turns out, you had both.
KENSI: Why don't you just tell me about your involvement with ELE?
RILEY: Who?
KENSI: The guys you sold the Dragons to.
NATE: Should she be alone in there with him? I mean, he's huge.
RENKO: Riley's bigger and stronger, but...she's meaner. We searched his apartment. There's nothing of value there. Eric and Dom combed through his bank accounts, his credit cards. If this guy was getting paid, he's had some serious self-control.
NATE: Okay, Riley manages to get a Dragon off a secure base on 6 different occasions. That's smart. But when your guy Mackaye follows him, Riley kills him on fish-cam?
RENKO: Not so smart.
NATE: Yeah, it's impulsive, desperate.
NATE: I don't know. I just get the feeling the game's changed.
[Kensi joins them]
KENSI: He's lying, he's stonewalling, and he is messing with me.
RENKO: Sounds like you on a second date.
KENSI: Nothing you'll ever have to worry about…Even used a different cord for his creepy garrote MO. There is one thing I'm sure of. He stole the missiles...and he killed Mackaye.
NATE: And this guy’s part Tim McVeigh, part 9/11 bomber. He will never betray his cause.
RENKO: Freeing America?
NATE: But he's a follower, not a leader.
KENSI: I think he's afraid of something.
NATE: Or someone…
[Navy base. A NCIS car stops behind a MP van. Kensi and Renko escort Riley.]
KENSI: Get out.
MARINE: Private Riley?
KENSI: Thank you. He's all yours, boys.
[The marine gets into the van with Riley to cuff his legs. He gets down and we sees another prisoner…G. Callen!!]
RENKO: See you tomorrow, Scott. We'll be talking some more.
[A MP sits down in the van: Sam! G. stares at him]
SAM: What are you looking at?
[Callen chuckles and looks at the opposite…]
---------------------------- ZAPPING ------------------------
[The van is running]
CALLEN: It's a nice cattle car. But you couldn't afford upholstery for the whole thing? Is that it? I've been in a cell for three days. Okay? I want a shower, a shave and a clean uniform.
SAM: You shouldn't have dishonored it.
CALLEN: I have rights, you know.
SAM: You signed those away. Uncle Sam owns you. You messed with him. I hope it was worth it, Corporal.
CALLEN: "Hope it was worth it." That’s a nice guy. [he scoffs] Check out that MP outfit. You think he made those chevrons in shop class?
RILEY: Why don't you leave me out of it?
CALLEN: Why don't you leave me out of it? Gee, look at you guys. Get you two a room together, huh?...Hey, how many MPs does it take to screw in a light bulb? 50. One to screw in the light bulb,
[OPS center]
CALLEN: [over radio] 49 to stand guard.
NATE: That is the worst joke I have ever heard.
ERIC: No kidding. What is Callen doing?
NATE: Psych 101: forging a bond with Riley by creating a common enemy in Sam.
CALLEN: [over radio] You want another?
NATE: No!
[In the van]
SAM: no!
CALLEN: Why don't MPs take showers before they go to battle? 'Cause they're just gonna wash up on the shore anyways.
[Riley smiles slightly]
[OPS center]
NATE: You got a little smile.
[In the van]
CALLEN: Got a little smile there. [To Sam] How you doing?
[Washington]
ERIC: [over phone]: this’s Eric
HETTY: That's good to hear you still know who you are.
[office]
ERIC: Ah. Hetty. You having a good time in Washington?
[Washington]
HETTY: The last person to have a good time in Washington was General Jubal early in 1864. He was attacking it at the time. The patients haven't burned down the asylum yet?
[office]
ERIC: So far, so good.
HETTY: [over phone]: And how's Mr. Callen doing?
ERIC: He is operational.
[Washington]
HETTY: Operational?
[office]
ERIC: Yeah. Renko's operation against the militia, we had a breakthrough.
[Washington]
HETTY: What kind of a breakthrough, Eric?
[OPS center. Dom and Nate]
DOM: These guys won't install a landline or talk on a cell phone, but Riley uses his laptop to search porn, fringe propaganda sites and...247 addresses on Google Maps.
[Eric joins them and pushes a button]
HETTY: [over speaker] This is a crackpot, cockamamie operation.
[Washington]
HETTY: I leave for a few hours, and you all turn into lunatics! These militia groups are far more paranoid than you could possibly appreciate. Now this is what I want you to do.
[OPS center. They listen carefully]
AUTOMATED VOICE: If you'd like to make a call, please hang up and try again.
ERIC: It wasn't me.
[Washington]
HETTY: Ugh. Good lord! Good lord! Damn! Damn! [She dials]
[OPS center. Phone rings]
ERIC: Don’t answer it.
NATE: Hetty, it's Nate. We did a full risk analysis in every component, and we ran it by Director Vance, and he signed off.
[Washington]
HETTY: And why didn't you inform me?
NATE: [over phone] You were in a Senate hearing.
[OPS center]
HETTY: [over speaker] You have no idea what you're up against here. Your risk assessment is useless. The dangers are unquantifiable.
[Washington]
HETTY: Mr. Callen could be...killed, or worse.
WOMAN: Ms. Lange? The committee is ready for you.
HETTY: Shut... it... down, Nate.
[OPS center]
NATE: Hetty, it's... too late.
[Washington. Hetty cuts the call]
HETTY: Miss Lange. [she waves at the woman]
[OPS center]
DOM: I have something here. Riley's hits on Google Maps...all 247 of them are federal buildings. They're Immigration Processing Centers. I think we might have a list of potential targets…
[In the van]
CALLEN: You work out every day? You probably have time for that, being an MP. Work out, play dress-up. Chasing guys like me around, instead of America's true enemies.
[Riley doen’t miss a word; Callen speaks only to Sam]
CALLEN: I'm a true patriot. I'm proud of my country. It's just the government that sucks.
[A brown pickup runs fast (horn honking) and makes the van stops brutally on the side of the road. Inside the van they hear gunshots]
CALLEN: What the hell? Someone's shooting.
[A man opens the door; he has an automatic weapon but Sam shoots him before he can use it. A 2nd man hits Sam and gets up into the van]
CALLEN: What the hell took you so long?
MAN: I got here, okay?
CALLEN: Just get the keys. Give me the gun.
RILEY: What's going on?
CALLEN: It's not your problem, buddy.
RILEY: Who are these guys?
CALLEN: Not your problem!
MAN: Come on. [Callen is freeing himself, the man gets down. Sam wasn’t dead: he takes his gun and hits the man in his back. Callen grabs the gun and “kills” Sam. He jumps out]
RILEY: Wait.
CALLEN: Goddamn it. [He looks at the bodies]
RILEY: Wait!
CALLEN: Idiots.
RILEY: What about me? You can't leave me here.
CALLEN: Leave me out of it, remember?
RILEY: Unlock me! I can help us. I got friends.
CALLEN: You know what? We all got friends. [He looks uninterested…]
RILEY: Listen to me. This guy is connected. He's got people all over the country. He can help us. He's got weapons, he's got food, safe places to stay, you know? They will never find us.
[OPS center. Nate and Dom look at Callen who hesitates, and decides to believe Riley]
NATE: Riley's taking the bait. Callen has done in two hours what easily could have taken two years to accomplish. Infiltrate a paranoid extremist group.
[Callen drives the car of his buddies. He and Riley leave hastily the place. A black van driven by Kensi arrives. Renko is with her. They get out of their car and Kensi bangs the van]
KENSI: Party's over, boys.
RENKO: Nice job, fellas.
[Sam and both dead men get up!!]
RENKO: Up [He helps one of the men outside]
SAM: Clear this out of here.
SAM: Got the GPS locator?
KENSI: Yep. Signal's strong and clear.
SAM: Change of clothes?
RENKO: In the back.
KENSI: Come on, come on, let's go!
SAM: Good, good! Yo! [He throws his military jacket to one of the men and gets into the car behind the wheel]
------------------------------ ZAPPING ----------------------------
[Callen and Riley leave the road and take a path. They stop in front of a gate in …nowhere]
CALLEN: Please tell me we're not going camping. Are we going camping?
RILEY: No, we're not camping. [He gets out to open the gate]
CALLEN: 'Cause I hate camping.
[At that right moment, there’s a gunshot which hits the car. It’s a young guy who shot at them]
RILEY: Hold your fire, Jay! It's Riley! [To G.] Give me the pistol.
CALLEN: I don't think so.
RILEY: And the man that we are going to see does not take kindly to strangers with guns. [Callen hands it]
[Riley goes to the gate]
CALLEN: You've gotta be kidding me. I'm being shot at by a Jonas brother.
[OPS center. Nate is watching carefully]
CALLEN: [over radio] And I think I'm about to meet the rest of the family.
[ELE camp]
RILEY: Point that thing at me again and I will break your neck. Take me to Malcolm.
JAY: He hates strangers.
Fine, it's your funeral. [he pushes Jay into the car]
JAY: [on his radio] It's Jay, I'm coming back. There's company.
CALLEN: Is there gonna be a bathroom where we're going?
RILEY: You can go in the woods.
CALLEN: I knew it. I save your life and you take me camping. [Riley is opening the gate] At least where I come from, they got toilets. And TV and fun!
JAY: At least where I come from, we know how to shut our mouth.
[Callen stares at him]
CALLEN: At least I don't have an Appalachian goatee.
JAY: At least I can grow one.
[They enter the camp]
[OPS center. Eric joins Nate]
ERIC: Nate, you got a minute? I think you need to hear this. Ten years ago, Hetty worked with an agent named Sullivan. He was killed infiltrating a militia group.
NATE: That explains her reaction.
ERIC: Yeah, but there's something else. She personally recruited him...to NCIS. She was an operations manager on the joint task force with Miami PD.
She wrote his recommendation letter to get him the job. Said the he was the best young detective that she'd ever seen. [He shows the test]
NATE: "Composed, confident and mentally suited to the rigors of undercover work."
ERIC: Remind you of anyone?
NATE: …Yeah…
[Washington. Hetty is entering a room]
MAN: I'm sorry, this is a private meeting.
VANCE: Jack, it's okay.
HETTY: Why on God's green earth did you not tell me, Leon?
VANCE: Excuse me, Senators.
[Vance takes Hetty on one side]
VANCE: There are very few ways to infiltrate a militia, you have to jump at...
HETTY: The reason you can't get in is they're crazy and paranoid and dangerous.
VANCE: Hetty, Callen is not Sullivan. Now, we deal with terrorists, cartels and gangs every day.There’s no reason to think that this'll be any different.
[Hetty nods]
VANCE: Jack!
JACK: Yes, sir?
VANCE: Will you please escort Miss Lange back to the hearing so she can finish her testimony.
JACK: Right this way, ma'am.
VANCE: I'll take care of it, Hetty. I promise.
HETTY: Some promises you can't keep, Leon.
[He nodded]
[ELE camp gate. Sam, Renko and Kensi stop in front of the gate. Kensi opens it and looks closely at the ground]
KENSI: There's been a lot of traffic through here, guys. I'm thinking about, at least, five different vehicles, maybe one heavy truck.
[She pick up something and joins the others who grab weapons and vests in the trunk]
KENSI: I found Callen's earwigs.
SAM: G's worried he's gonna get searched.
RENKO: I guess the paranoia's contagious.
[ELE camp. There are many men chattering. Sam, Kensi and Renko come close very carefully. Callen’s car stops in the middle]
[OPS center]
NATE: Okay, here we go.
[ELE camp. Kensi and Renko use binocular]
RENKO: That's one of the Dragons. That's Malcolm Tallridge, the founder of ELE. Nasty guy next to him is John Bordinay, his right-hand man.
[Callen, hands-up is searched]
RILEY: Malcolm, Bordinay.
MALCOLM: Riley, who's your friend?
RILEY: He was on the transport. His buddies sprung us.
MALCOLM: Where's the buddies?
RILEY: Dead.
RENKO: [Whispering] I think we just hit the mother lode. All missiles are right in that cabin.
JOHN: Killed a Marine, got yourself caught and took out a transport? Then you brought a outsider here? How many ways you gonna expose us?
RILEY: It's safer this way. No one gets picked up, no one answering questions.
SAM: This is the entire militia organization.
KENSI: Hey, Dom! We need back-up- now.
[OPS center]
DOM: Done. [He takes a phone]
[ELE camp]
KENSI: On their way.
RENKO: Callen will get the hell out of there first chance he gets, right?
KENSI: If he keeps his head down, we're home free.
SAM: Oh, yeah, piece of cake.
MALCOLM: He's right.
[He makes a head sign to John- who shoots at Riley and aims at Callen. G. dives behind the door of the car but John is hit in the chest: Sam prevented him to shoot again]
[OPS center. Dom and Eric are scared]]
[ELE camp]
SAM: Don't fire unless you have to!
[Malcolm runs- G. grabs Jay and his gun and drags him behind a hut]
MALCOLM: Hold your fire! Hold your fire! Don't shoot him! Do not shoot!
RENKO: What do we do now?
CALLEN: I don't want trouble, Malcolm. You all seem like patriotic citizens. You know how to hold up your end of a deal, am I right?
MALCOLM: Who's in the woods, son?
CALLEN: You tell me. I just want the keys to that truck and I'm gone. No one gets hurt. [Whispering in Jay’s ears] Don't worry, they're not gonna shoot us.
JAY: I'm not sure about that. [A man comes from behind. Callen shoots]
CALLEN: Call them off, Malcolm!
MALCOLM: Go ahead, shoot the kid. He's willing to die for his cause.
CALLEN: Is that what you want, Jay?...He'd rather not, Malcolm. What do you say you and I have a conversation? We talk about this?
[OPS center. Nate is on his phone]
NATE: I need Director Vance on the phone.
DOM: [on aother phone] No, we need that back-up now! I have an agent in distress.
ERIC: I'm getting the ETA, they're on their way.
NATE: Maybe Hetty was right.
ERIC: Hetty's always right.
[ELE camp]
CALLEN: Jay is a kid. Now, you don't need that kind of press. Not gonna be real good with your recruitment effort.
[OPS center]
NATE: What is Sam doing? [Horn honking: Sam’s car is running to the middle of the camp]
[ELE camp]
SAM: Keep your cool. I'm not armed! I'm with the ATF. We have the camp surrounded. I'm authorized to negotiate a settlement. We don't want another Ruby Ridge.
[OPS center]
SAM: [over radio] We know about the Dragons. We know about MacKaye. We've had agents watching you for three weeks. I'm here to talk.
ERIC: What on earth is he doing?
[ELE camp]
MALCOLM: The other guy's an agent?
SAM: Yeah, Agent Callen. [G. doesn’t like this] Everybody's standing down, no one's coming in. You and I have 30 minutes to make a deal.
KENSI: Hope backup gets here fast.
MALCOLM: Eyes open. It sounds like you have us in a bind.
[OPS center]
NATE: It's textbook negotiation. He's giving the illusion that he has a bargaining chip.
ERIC: But he doesn't.
[ELE camp]
MALCOLM: Let's see how good you are. Go get your friend, then we'll talk. Let him through.
SAM: G, I'm coming to you.
CALLEN: I hope you have a better plan than this.
[Sam takes his weapon]
MALCOLM: Move those bodies.
[Sam comes back to Malcolm with Jay and G. and throws him the weapon]
SAM: Okay, everything's good.
CALLEN: [looking at Sam] Now what?
MALCOLM: You think the ATF's gonna come in guns blazing when there's hostages involved?
SAM: You have to wait 30 minutes to see.
MALCOLM: Jay, come here. [The guy hesitates] Come here. [Jay obeys…and is hit in the nose by Malcolm’s weapon]
CALLEN: Hey, come on, man. You didn't need to do that. [He leans towards the boy on the ground…and the weapon crashes the back of his head. He fainted]
SAM: G!
----------------------------- ZAPPING -------------------
[Sam and Callen are cuffed into the hut. G. groans and wakes up]
CALLEN: How long was I out?
SAM: Few minutes. I've been kicking you the whole time.
CALLEN: In the side of the head?...Why aren't we dead?
SAM: Because they wanna find out if they're surrounded by 50 agents.
CALLEN: How long is that gonna take?
SAM: I'd say the time it takes to pack up and realize no one's shooting 'em.
CALLEN: Think they'll do that before or after they kill us?
SAM: After, definitely after.
CALLEN: You want explain yourself?
SAM: Explain myself? I saved your skinny ass.
CALLEN: Let's see, I had a gun and a hostage before you got here. Now I'm, I'm chained up to a stove with a concussion. That's a nice save.
SAM: Ten more seconds, you'd have a dozen new bullet holes in you.
CALLEN: Now what?
SAM: I was hoping you had some ideas.
CALLEN: I'm thinking I want my gun and my hostage back.
[Washington]
VANCE: Excuse me.
[He joins slowly Hetty]
VANCE: Sorry to pull you out.
HETTY: How bad?
VANCE: They have Callen and Sam. Back-up is en route.
HETTY: And that's it?
VANCE: The LA field office is doing everything they can. There's nothing more you can do here. We should know more soon.
[ELE camp]
KENSI: Chopper's at 23 minutes out.
RENKO: This is gonna be over in ten. They're already packing up the missiles.
KENSI: We gotta buy them some time then. You got any ideas?
RENKO: Drive another car into the camp?
KENSI: Think that's gonna work again?
RENKO: Take a look at this. [Callen’s head appears in his visor] How's your Morse code?
[Hut]
CALLEN: That was the last one.
[A red spot flickers on his forehead]
SAM: Oh, this just keeps getting better.
CALLEN: Is it flickering? It feels like it's flickering.
SAM: That's because it's Morse code.
CALLEN: Got it.
SAM: What?
CALLEN: That bobby pin. I started wearing it in the '90s. Haven't used it since.
SAM: That's the most well-trained display of standard operating procedure I've ever seen from you.
CALLEN: Oh, no.
SAM: What?
CALLEN: I dropped it.
SAM: You dropped it? How could you drop it?
CALLEN: Well, it kind of sprung. Oh, I got it. I'm good. Just keep reading the code.
SAM: Keep your head still.
CALLEN: It's still. Am I good?
SAM: Kensi says the choppers are 20 minutes out.
[Callen has just freed himself]
CALLEN: How do you know it was Kensi not Renko?
SAM: Kensi versus Renko...Who remembers their Morse code?
CALLEN: Can you send it back? [G. frees him]
SAM: Shhh! Yeah, I can send it back. It's called training and paying attention.
CALLEN: Thought you said I was well-prepared.
SAM: Must've been Stockholm syndrome.
[Sam puts his watch as a mirror so the red spot “answers” back to Kensi while men speak indistinctly outside]
KENSI: "Maskelyne?"
[OPS center]
KENSI: [Over radio] What the hell is "Maskelyne"?
NATE: "Maskelyne"? I don't know.
DOM: Maybe it's a code word. [Phone rings] Incoming! It's Hetty.
ERIC: Hetty, it's all of us. Please don't yell.
HETTY: [over speaker] I'm not yelling.
[Washington]
HETTY: What don't I know?
[OPS center]
DOM: Backup will be there in...18 minutes.
[Washington. Hetty is sit and listens anxiously to her phone]
ERIC: [over phone] Hetty, we don't think they can last that long. And Nate got a message from
[OPS center] Kensi from Callen in Morse code about something
[Washington] called "Maskelyne".
HETTY: Maskelyne! It's not a thing, it's a who. He was a magician in World War II. He invented subterfuge. He could make an entire squadron of tanks disappear. He tricked the Nazis into believing that a handful of men was an entire division.
[OPS center]
NATE: Smoke and mirrors.
HETTY: [over phone] Now, listen.
[Washington]
HETTY: These militia groups... They already believe they're being pursued by the full force of the United States government.
[OPS center]
ERIC: So we play to those fears.
HETTY: [over phone] Exactly.
[ELE camp. Kensi is running, Renko too]
[OPS center]
ERIC: I've jammed all the radio signals in the area. They'll start futzing with the dials to try to find the frequency. And hopefully stumble upon us. Now, the idea is to make them think that they're surrounded.
NATE: One becomes ten.
ERIC: Yeah.
[Washington. Hetty comes close to a group of men discussing]
HETTY: Mr. Secretary.
SECRETARY: Henrietta. What can I do for you? Desmond, I need a favor. A small one.
[OPS center]
ERIC: All teams in place?
NATE: Teams one, two, three taking positions north, northwest and southwest.
ERIC: Teams four
[ELE camp]
ERIC: [over radio] and five, snipers in position?
NATE: [over radio] Sniper one, target identified. Sniper two, target in sight.
DOM: [over radio] Roger, sniper three, target identified, militia leader. Permission to engage?
MAN: Malcolm, are you hearing this?
MALCOLM: Yeah.
[OPS center]
DOM: Kensi, go.
[ELE camp. Kensi shoots up, ELE members retaliate. Renko shoots up too, runs further and shoots again]
DOM: [over radio] Man, we got gunfire, gunfire.
[A man enters the hut…and is grabbed and hit silently by Sam and G. Sam takes his automatic weapon, Callen his gun]
CALLEN: You think we can make a run for it?
SAM: No.
CALLEN: Want to try it anyways?
JAY: Drop it. [They didn’t notice he was there…He aims at Sam]
CALLEN: You’re not going to go through this again?
SAM: Nice face.
CALLEN: You know, they're not very nice to you out there.
JAY: At least I'm not a complete liar.
CALLEN: At least I'm not running around with a bunch of wannabe Rambos. You ought to be with your friends playing Guitar Hero, or down at the beach picking up chicks. Not camping out with a bunch, of the “Hills Have Eyes” psychos.
SAM: What do you think the missiles are for? Self-defense? There comes a time when you got to choose which side you're on.
[Jay hesitates, outside men are yelling and there’s gunfire]
[Men shoot at the woods, Renko and Kensi run and shoot up. Jay is running towards his leader]
JAY: Malcolm! There's 20 agents...They're on the access road. They're coming for us!
MALCOLM: You're sure about that, huh? You sure you didn't just imagine it?
JAY: They're coming. I swear. We need to get out of here.
[At that right moment, 2 fight planers fly over the camp. Malcolm runs to the car and leaves the camp (alone). All the guys start running in the woods]
[OPS center. They look highly relieved]
NATE: Looks like they bought it.
[ELE camp. Sam and Callen spots Malcom’s car running away, they chase it, cutting across the woods. They are first on the road and wait for the car]
SAM: He's not gonna stop.
CALLEN: He'll stop.
SAM: No, he's not.
CALLEN: You're right, he's not.
[Malcolm is stepping on it- they don’t have any choice but shoot at the car which crashes heavily]
[Sunset at ELE camp. Militia members are arrested. G. is speaking with an agent]
HUNT: All right, Agent Callen.
CALLEN: Appreciate it, Agent Hunt.
[He joins Jay, cuffed near the truck and taps his shoulder]
CALLEN: So, I spoke with the Special Agent in charge, and he spoke with the US Attorney. They said you could go home…for now.
[Jay is relieved]
CALLEN: You have anywhere you can go?
[Jay is fighting against tears]
JAY: Can I call my mom?
[G. takes his phone and dials]
JAY: 626-555-0110
CALLEN: At least I know how to dial a cell phone.
JAY: At least I'm not going to jail.
CALLEN: At least I didn't accidentally join a militia.
JAY: At least I...finally woke up and saved your behind.
[Callen, serious, stares at him]
CALLEN: Yeah. At least you were on my side.
[Jay is crying. He sniffles. Callen puts his phone against his ear. Jay sticks it with his shoulder. (Phone line ringing)]
JAY: Hi, mom.
WOMAN: [over phone] Oh honey. Baby, where are you? Where have you been?
[Callen looks very sad at the sound of her voice…]
[Washington]
VANCE: F-22s. Nice touch.
HETTY: Whatever funding I procured today, we just blew on an air show.
VANCE: [happily] Yeah, there goes my slush fund.
HETTY: You knew. You knew that I would go to...
VANCE: I had a suspicion.
HETTY: You...You... You baited me. You pulled me out of that hearing, and you baited me to going to the SecAF, so you wouldn't have to.
VANCE: I didn't think he'd do it for me.
HETTY: And that way, I could spend my political capital, so that you wouldn't have to spend yours, Leon.
[They shake hands]
VANCE: Sullivan was a good agent. He would have become a great one.
HETTY: Like Callen. I'd never lost an agent before Sullivan.
VANCE: But you saved two today. You should feel good.
[She doesn’t answer nor smile and leaves the place. Alone, she smiles…]
[Sam and Callen are back at the office]
CALLEN: You know, that was really stupid. Coming in to get me.
SAM: You're calling me stupid? You wanted to "Butch Cassidy" me. You wanted to run for it.
CALLEN: Yeah, wasn't my best idea.
SAM: You wanted to "Custer's last stand" me. You wanted to "Alamo" me.
[Callen sits on the couch and removes his shoes. Sam takes an armchair and a newspaper]
CALLEN: You going to put that in your little report, color-coded tabs?
SAM: Yeah. Tabs marked: “dumb-ass idea”.
CALLEN: Nice job, Special Agent Hanna.
[He nods and lies down on the couch]
SAM: Ah. You said it. You feel good?
[Callen has closed his eyes]
CALLEN: No…Cheapens the work.
[Sam shakes his head] ♫