Épisode Loup Solitaire S03E06 - NCIS : Los Angeles Saison 3

[A woman is walking and speaking on her cell phone. Well actually she’s listening to a recorded message].

FORBES: This is David Forbes. I'm not in right now. Leave a message.

WOMAN: David, it's me again. I think I'm being followed. I need to see you now. Call me when you get this.

[She looks worried, looks around and walks hastily. She stops in front of a big man with tattoos who stares at her. She’s scared! But the man was looking behind her, and a large smile lights his face when he hears:]

GIRL: Daddy!

MAN: Hey! Hey, guys. How are you?

[He hugs two little girls! The woman starts walking again, still worried and looking around]

(Motorcycle engine revving)

[The motorcycle stops just ahead of the woman. The passenger jumps down. We hear gun cocking]

WOMAN: No! No! No!

[But the automatic weapon throws its bullets, and the woman crashes in the shop window behind her, among large balls] (People screaming)[The shooter comes close to her and grabs her bag. He gets on the motorcycle and it moves off…but a few seconds later they hit a car leaving a parking lot. (Tires squealing) Both men are thrown to the ground. The driver doesn’t move anymore…The passenger/shooter gets up and flees with the bag and the weapon]

♫ ♫ NCIS: LA 3x06 ♫ ♫ Lone Wolf ♫ ♫

♫ ♫ Original air date on October 25, 2011 ♫ ♫

♫ [Callen is entering the office, carrying a plate of food. Sam appears on his left and follows him to the desks]

CALLEN: Hey.

SAM: Bacon. Third time this week.

CALLEN: Mm-hmm.

SAM: When is the last time you got your cholesterol checked?

CALLEN: Last month.

SAM: What is it, 250, 275?

CALLEN: Not even close.

[Sam sits down at his desk and starts typing on his laptop]

SAM: If you're at 300, I'm interviewing new partners.

CALLEN: Sorry, pal, you are stuck with me. Genetically gifted-- 170. Bacon is my friend.

[Hetty joins them in a hurry]

DEEKS: Have you guys seen Deeks?

CALLEN: Uh, good morning to you, too.

KENSI: Hi. Have you heard from him?

SAM: It's only 9:00.

KENSI: I know, but he was supposed to pick me up at the airport this morning and he ever showed.

CALLEN: [eating] That's right. How was Hawaii?

KENSI: It was fine.

SAM: Meet anyone? Go to any luaus? Solve any crimes?

KENSI: It was fine. Back to Deeks. I called his house number, I called his cell. No answer anywhere.

CALLEN: He's probably just hungover.

SAM: Or surfing.

CALLEN: Or he forgot.

SAM: Or all of the above.

KENSI: (sighs) He has flaked on me before, and I suppose he does sleep through his alarm on a regular basis. So, yeah, you guys are right. Of course.

[She sits down close to G]

KENSI: What you eating?

CALLEN: Bacon, eggs, mine.

[Deeks was on the couch behind and appears from under a large blanket]

DEEKS: Really? That's it? No phone calls to the hospital or the morgue? I mean, I could be lying in a ditch someplace.

SAM: (chuckles)

KENSI: You slept here?

DEEKS: [Getting up with pain in the back] Yeah, well, it's more of a tactical retreat, because my building is being tented for termites.

SAM: Termites or fleas?

KENSI: Yeah, now that you mention it, Monty has been looking kind of mangy.

CALLEN: You ever thought about taking that dog to a groomer? Maybe get that fur problem checked out?

DEEKS: He's actually there right now, and the fur problem you're referring to is actually called a shaggy cut. I pay top dollar for that at the Pampered Pooch.

SAM: Are we talking about you or your dog?

(Bird call honking) [Bird or baby, the sound makes them jump. Eric is standing on top of the stairs]

ERIC: The mating call for the African Red-Throated Loon. Audubon Society membership has its privileges.

DEEKS: Does it?

[Eric wants to play with the whistle but it falls down]

ERIC: We…'ve got an urgent case.

[They get up.]

CALLEN: [To Deeks] You need some deodorant.

[Kensi manages to stay behind with Deeks]

KENSI: About that ride, shaggy boy.

DEEKS: Hey, how was Hawaii?

KENSI: No, no, no. Don't change the subject.

DEEKS: You're going to punish me for this, aren't you?

KENSI: Hell, yeah. Because you left me stranded at the airport, I believe I get to be master of the car radio today.

DEEKS: Dear God, no-- not that techno station again. Reminds me of college with all those foam parties and strawberry-flavored body glitter.

[OPS center. ID of the woman and her body on screen]

ERIC: Shooting in Santa Monica yesterday at 1400. Victim is Stephanie Walters, 32 years old.

NELL: She was a former Navy Intelligence officer. Retired three years ago. Lived with her fiancé, Clifford Bosworth. I'm searching income tax records for a more recent employer.

SAM: Any video footage?

ERIC: Just about every storefront camera caught a piece of the action. [He puts the scene on the screen from 2 different angles] The victim had just left a café.

SAM: She had nowhere to run.

KENSI: He took her purse. Looks like robbery may have been the motive.

ERIC: That was part one. This is part two.

[The crash]

ERIC: The shooter managed to get away, but the rider, Jose Agosto, died on impact.

NELL: Agosto was 25 years old and had just about as many arrests. He did time for armed robbery and was your average muscle for hire.

CALLEN: Sounds like a job for the LAPD.

HETTY: [entering OPS] Stephanie Walters made a call before she was shot. It was to her former boss--Commander David Forbes, at the Office of Naval Intelligence.

CALLEN: Right. Check Agosto's known associates. You two talk to Commander Forbes. We'll talk with Stephanie's fiancé. Eric, send us the address.

ERIC: You got it. [Sam and Callen leave]

HETTY: Oh, and Mr. Deeks—[Deeks and Kensi stop]

DEEKS: Yeah.

HETTY: that blanket that you took from my office--

DEEKS: Mm-hmm.

HETTY: actually it's a tapestry that once hung in Mozart's home in Salzburg.

DEEKS: That explains why it smelled so musty. You want me to dry-clean it for you?

KENSI: Really? Really, Deeks? [She goes out]

DEEKS: Can I... hand-wash it, cold water?... No? Okay. Yeah, I need a do-over on today.

HETTY: There are no do-overs in life, Mr. Deeks.

DEEKS: [Leaving the OPS] This coming from a woman with a dozen aliases.

HETTY: I heard that!

DEEKS: (groans)

[Boatshed.David Forbes is sitting down on a couch, Deeks and Kensi on armchairs]

FORBES: Stephanie called me out of the blue yesterday morning. She said it was urgent, so we made plans to meet in the afternoon.

KENSI: She called you again right before she was killed?

FORBES: I was in a meeting. She said she was being followed, but, by the time I got the message, it was too late.

DEEKS: Any idea who could've been after her?

FORBES: We hadn't spoken in over six months. I really don't know.

KENSI: How long did Stephanie work under you?

FORBES: Four years-- as an electronic intelligence operations analyst. She was one of the best--bright, thorough, great sense of humor too.

DEEKS: Why did she leave?

FORBES: Like a lot of good agents, she burned out. We had a grueling operation in Serbia. I could see it was taking a toll on her.

KENSI: Any idea what Stephanie did after she resigned?

FORBES: Stephanie had a big heart. Six months after she left, she joined a non-profit that set up safe drinking water for people in Third World countries.

KENSI: Wow. [She looks at Deeks] Maybe one of her past assignments had something to do with her murder.

FORBES: I wondered the same thing. She had top secret security clearance and access to a lot of information.

DEEKS: Could this be related to selling that intel?

FORBES: Never. Not the Stephanie I knew.

[Kensi and Deeks share a look]

[Inside of a house obviously searched some time ago…The door is wide open. Callen and Sam pull out their weapons and enter carefully. A man is sitting down, a broken frame in his hands. They raise their guns. Guy doesn’t look scared…but sad]

CALLEN: Cliff Bosworth?

CLIFF: [coolly] Yeah. Who are you?

CALLEN: Agent Callen, NCIS. [He puts his gun again in his back]

SAM: Agent Hanna. [He shows his badge]

CLIFF: The police just left. They took photos, dusted for prints. Didn't find anything.

SAM: We just want to ask you a couple questions about your fiancée Stephanie.

CLIFF: What is there to say? She's gone.

[Sam and G exchange a look]

CALLEN: We're sorry for your loss, but any information you can give us may help us find her killer.

[Bosworth stands up and goes into next room. Sam and G follow him]

CLIFF: I thought this must have been just a random act of violence, until I came home and found the place like this.

SAM: Anything missing?

CLIFF: Just her laptop. They must've been looking for something else, 'cause every room in the place was trashed.

CALLEN: Did Stephanie keep her valuables anyplace special?

CLIFF: Well, she's...Sorry. She...She was a minimalist. So the only material things she cherished were a necklace her father gave her and the engagement ring from me. She was wearing both of them.

SAM: Clownfish...[There’s a wide aquarium with fishes and ornaments in the room] they're hard to care for.

CLIFF: That was Stephanie's thing. She didn't even like me going near the tank. I went to clean it out the other day and she went nuts about it.

[His words ring a bell in the agents’ minds.]

CLIFF: I mean, she just liked to do things a certain way, you know.

[Sam takes aquarium plant tongs and moves all the fake plants.]

CLIFF: What-what are you doing?

SAM: Think I got something.

[There’s a plastic bag hidden under a plant. Sam gets it back up to the surface]

CALLEN: I've got gloves. Open it up.

[Callen grabs a lot of bills and at 3 passports. He opens 2 of them]

CALLEN: Singapore, Australia...Looks like there's a little more to Stephanie than we thought.

-------------------- ZAPPING -------------------

[Boatshed. Callen and Bosworth are sitting face to face, Sam stands up]

CALLEN: Any idea where she got the fake passports and the cash?

CLIFF: No. No, Stephanie and I talked about everything. At least I thought we did.

CALLEN: How long did you known her?

CLIFF: She walked into my nursery a year and a half ago. She said she wanted to start a veggie garden. We, uh... we worked on it together and things just kind of developed from there, you know.

[Observation room. Deeks and Kensi watch closely the scene]

SAM: [over video] What did Stephanie tell you about the job...

DEEKS: Nope. Nope. I'm not buying this guy never got suspicious. His fiancée's leading a double life. How do you not realize something's up?

KENSI: Maybe she was good at it--like we are.

[Interrogation room.]

SAM: Tell us about Stephanie's job at Emerald Water International.

CLIFF: She loved to make a difference, but the travel was rough.

CALLEN: What was her last trip?

CLIFF: Frankfurt, Germany. She got back three days ago.

CALLEN: Anything unusual when she got back?

CLIFF: …Yeah...Yeah, she seemed distracted. I asked her about the trip--she didn't want to talk about it. She just...She just seemed a bit off. At first I just thought it was the jet lag.

CALLEN: At first?

CLIFF: She started getting phone calls at odd times. She'd go into the other room to take them, you know. I asked what was going on, she said she was just...she said she was just tired. Then the day before yesterday, she left the house in a hurry, and, of course, I was worried, so I followed her. She drove to a place in Santa Monica. Some woman answered the door.

SAM: Can you give us an address?

CLIFF: Yeah, sure.

SAM: Okay.

[He nods approvingly]

[Next door. Callen and Sam enter]

CALLEN: I think he's telling the truth. I think Stephanie was keeping secrets.

DEEKS: So what was she mixed up in?

KENSI: Well, she had access to classified material up until three years ago.

SAM: And she traveled a lot under different passports.

(Computer trills)

ERIC: [Over video] Guys, I followed up with the café Stephanie visited--actually an Internet café. Turns out she uploaded files to a cloud drive that belongs to Cliff. The account was opened two months ago.

SAM: What'd you find?

ERIC: Well, it's highly encrypted, and I'm working on it, but it might just be easier to ask him for the password.

[Interrogation room. Sam and Callen come back, Cliff has his head on the table]

CALLEN: We need access to your cloud drive account.

CLIFF: I haven't got a cloud drive account.

SAM: Stephanie uploaded files to an account held in your name before she was killed. It was opened about two months ago.

CLIFF: The only thing she opened was something to keep the wedding files in, but I never looked at it.

CALLEN: Any idea what the password is?

CLIFF: [Shaking his head] She never told me.

[Sam and G share a look and a sigh…]

[NCIS office. Eric is waiting for the agents near their desks. He starts briefing them as soon as they appear]

ERIC: I just checked with Stephanie's old boss. Those passports were not issued by his department.

CALLEN: Somebody must've supplied them.

KENSI: What about her current employer?

ERIC: Emerald Water International is a completely legit organization. They've helped set up drinking water pumps in Third World countries for over ten years.

DEEKS: Do they have an office?

ERIC: Yeah. Downtown Culver City. Stephanie reported to a woman named Abigail Johns.

KENSI: We're on it.

[She and Deeks leave the office; Nell joins Eric, Callen and Sam]

NELL: Guys, I've been researching Stephanie's movements. She was in Frankfurt last week, like Cliff said, but it was just a layover. She ended up traveling on to Afghanistan for the week.

SAM: See if she was working on a water project there.

NELL: Right.

SAM: [To Eric] Found our shooter yet?

ERIC: Uh, still looking. But you know that woman Stephanie visited? Turns out she's a professor of engineering at Whitley University. Dr. Calista Colby.

[He puts an ID onto the screen: she works in environmental engineering] Now, I got a campus security log here. Stephanie visited her every day since she got back from Afghanistan three days ago. She also placed half a dozen calls to Dr. Colby. The last one was just 20 minutes before her shooting.

CALLEN: Well, you need engineers to build water pumps. Could be a colleague.

SAM: Or someone she trusts.

CALLEN: Maybe she can tell us what Stephanie was up to.

[Sam and G leave the office]

[In a warehouse, a woman opens the door of a hoist. A man moves crates with a motored cart. The place is busy (Indistinct chatter) Deeks and Kensi are coming close to the young woman]

WOMAN: Okay.

KENSI: Abigail Johns?

[Abigail was hidden behind the hoist]

ABIGAIL: Can I… help you?

KENSI: Special Agent Kensi Blye, NCIS.

DEEKS: Detective Marty Deeks, LAPD.

[They show their badges]

KENSI: We'd like to talk to you about Stephanie Walters.

ABIGAIL: Is she okay?

DEEKS: Um, I'm sorry to have to deliver the news. She was actually shot and killed yesterday.

ABIGAIL: Oh, my God!

KENSI: It would really help us out if you could answer a few questions.

ABIGAIL: Of course! Anything.

DEEKS: Can you tell us about your work in Afghanistan?

ABIGAIL: Afghanistan? Oh, we don't work in Afghanistan.

DEEKS: Is it possible that Stephanie joined a project that you didn't know about?

ABIGAIL: Not with our organization. We haven't expanded into the Middle East yet.

KENSI: But she was there on a water project only last week.

ABIGAIL: Oh, I'm sorry, Stephanie hasn't worked for Emerald Water for... six months.

[Deeks stares at Kensi…]

[Whitley University. Sam and G find the right building- Sam sighs and knocks at the door of Dr. Colby’s office. No answer. He knocks again and tries the door. It opens. They enter…]

SAM: G.

[He pulls out his gun, showing a body on the floor lying in a pool of blood. Sam checks the office, Callen looks outside. Sam checks the victim’s pulse]

SAM: The body's still warm. Looks like a gunshot wound to the chest.

[G dials a number on his cell phone]

ERIC (on phone): Yo.

CALLEN: Eric, Dr. Colby's been shot. Notify LAPD, and have the campus locked down.

[Sam is searching the desk]

SAM: Got a passport. Departure stamp—Kabul International Airport; dated three days ago.

CALLEN: Three days ago? [He grabs the passport]

SAM: Yeah.

CALLEN: That's the same day Stephanie left Afghanistan.

SAM: And now they're both dead.

CALLEN: So what were an engineering professor and a former intelligence agent doing together in Kabul?

SAM: Maybe he knows something.

[He shows a pic on a camera: a man is standing near Abigail and Stephanie- both wears chador]

[OPS center. Kensi and Deeks enter. Nell and Eric are standing in front computers]

KENSI: Any leads on Dr. Colby's killer?

ERIC: Campus is shut down and being swept. I'm just waiting to get their security footage.

NELL: In the meantime, we were able to access Dr. Colby's bank account. She received a wire transfer for $50,000 two weeks ago.

ERIC: Strangely enough, Stephanie received the same amount on the same day.

DEEKS: That's big lump sum payments.

KENSI: Same source?

ERIC: It didn't appear to be at first, but we traced the funds through several shell corporations and found both wires originated in the same Swiss bank.

DEEKS: Do we have any idea who's paying?

NELL: Yes. A man named Larry Basser. [She enlarges Basser’s photo]

ERIC: He's a former NSA agent.

KENSI: Any ties to Afghanistan?

NELL: He's been all over the Middle East.

ERIC: Joined the NSA after a career in the Army. Spent lots of time in Russia in the early '80s. He settled down in L.A. He's got memberships to three yacht clubs and two country clubs.

[Nell enlarges different times pics]

DEEKS: Wait a second. [He enlarges a lot one of the photos] Uh, is that who I think it is with Basser?

[They all look astonished: a little woman is with Basser, a very little woman]

KENSI: Hetty?

[Much younger, but it’s definitely Hetty!]

-------------------- ZAPPING -------------------

[Shooting range. (Gun firing) 4 bullets in the chest, 2 in the head…Hetty is training. Sam and Callen watch her (shell casings clinking). She removes her ears protection]

HETTY: Basser and I worked together in the '80s. He was a courageous soldier and a first class agent, but he considered himself somewhat of a maverick, which is to say that he ruffled a lot of feathers.

CALLEN: I know the type.

SAM: So that's why you wanted us on the case. You knew Basser was involved.

HETTY: I didn't know for certain.

SAM: Did you use us to do your leg work?

HETTY: You have longer legs.

CALLEN: Why'd Basser leave the NSA?

HETTY: He was ousted when a, uh, a case he was running in Fallujah ended tragically.

SAM: How tragically?

HETTY: Several agents were killed. Many believed Basser was to blame.

CALLEN: Do you believe that?

HETTY: I believe war is very messy, and unless you're in the middle of it, it's easy to point the finger.

SAM: Hmm. So what's he been doing since?

HETTY: Last I heard, he was running a private intelligence network.

CALLEN: So let's pay him a visit.

[He starts stepping out of the range]

HETTY: Not so fast, Mr. Callen. Basser is the ultimate lone wolf, and he's a tricky bastard at that. He is extremely good at what he does. You won't get through the door. I will. And I'll remember to leave it unlocked for you.

[And she goes out first…]

[Sam and Callen are waiting in the car. Sam helps himself with a drink] (thermos and cup clattering) [Hetty’s Jag stops nearby]

CALLEN: What the hell is that?

[There’s some green juice in Sam’s cup]

SAM: It's kale lemonade. You should have some. Scrape out that bacon grease from breakfast.

CALLEN: [disgusted] No, thank you.

SAM: It's fresh. Made it with my new four-in-one juicer.

CALLEN: How much do you spend every year on late-night infomercial purchases? You got the upside-down tomato grower. You got the crystal bulbs that water your plants. You got the ginzu knife that can cut through glass.

SAM: All necessities.

CALLEN: And, of course, the Chillow--"the amazing pillow that stays cool."

SAM: Who sleeps like a baby on a hot summer's night? Cheers.

CALLEN: And drink up. It's showtime.

[Hetty heads to a villa. A girl opens the door]

WOMAN: Come in.

HETTY: Thank you.

[A ball misses her head by an inch. There are feet pattering on floor: 2 boys running behind the ball stop dead in the doorframe and turn over]

BOY: Uh... come on!

BASSER: Whoa! Careful, boys.

WOMAN [Following the boys] No running in the house.

[Basser joins Hetty]

BASSER: I see you've met my two little monsters-- Mark and Ed. Horrible manners; they take after my ex.

HETTY: (chuckles)

BASSER: Boys, come back in here. Please?

[Boys are back]

BASSER: Say hello to Ms. Lange.

ELDER BOY: Hi. [He waves at Hetty]

YOUNG BOY: Bye! [He runs away]

[Hetty laughs]

BASSER: The ex has custody; I get them once a month. You know, they make three tours of duty look like a cakewalk, but I miss them like hell when they're not here.

HETTY: I'm sure.

BASSER: Henrietta, you look great.

HETTY: Oh.

[He kisses her cheek and hugs her. She gives him back the kiss]

BOTH: Mmm...

[OPS center. Kensi and Deeks are with Eric, looking at the scene on the large screen]

HETTY: [over video] Thanks.

[They see Basser’s chest leaving Hetty]

DEEKS: Ah, that was a great view of Basser's belt buckle.

KENSI: If Hetty would only...

DEEKS: Tippy, tippy-toes?

KENSI: Yeah.

ERIC: Got it covered, guys. I installed an adjustable camera lens in the old Hetty-cam.

[On the screen, Basser is “complete”]

ERIC: That's better.

BASSER: [Over video] How long has it been--20 years?

HETTY: [Over video] Oh, longer. Islamabad was '87.

BASSER: [Over video] I remember that night like it was yesterday.

HETTY: [Over video] So do I.

[Nell is sitting in the OPS, listening carefully like the others]

BASSER: [Over video] You saved my life.

[In the car. Sam and Callen pay attention to each word]

BASSER: [Over radio] Nothing you wouldn't have done for me. Come on in.

[Basser’s house. They go near the table where bottles were waiting; Basser grabs some scotch]

BASSER: Yeah, we had some wild times.

HETTY: Indeed, we did.

BASSER: Do you remember that hand-off in Berlin?

HETTY: Oh.

BASSER: And the dinner with the Saudi prince?

HETTY :(chuckling) Yeah.

BASSER: Moscow?

HETTY: Don't remind me. I still shiver when I think back on those cold winter nights.

BASSER: Did you ever get the scotch I sent you?

HETTY: I feel guilty just looking at it.

BASSER: It's no good to Saddam now.

HETTY: Well, I'm saving it for a special occasion.

BASSER: Classic Hetty.

[OPS center.]

BASSER: [over video] You always had such restraint. Cheers.

DEEKS: Is it just me or are they flirting?

[Over screen: glasses clinking]

KENSI: Nope. Just you.

DEEKS: Really?

ERIC: Nah.

[Nell shakes her head]

DEEKS: Oh, come on. Th-The long winter's nights and the, and th-the scotch drinking?

[Eric is still unconvinced]

DEEKS: Okay. You know what, don't worry if you can't see it. It's more of a master's class anyway.

[Sam’s car. Callen’s phone rings]

CALLEN: Yeah, Eric.

ERIC: [over phone] I've accessed all of Basser's security cams.

[OPS center.]

ERIC: We've got every inch of that house covered. You and Sam are good to go.

[Sam’s car]

SAM: Floor plan?

ERIC: [over phone] Sending it to you now. Basser's office is upstairs. Master bedroom downstairs. First door on the left.

[They cut the call]

CALLEN: Let's do it.

SAM: Let's roll.

[They get out of the car]

[Basser’s living room.]

HETTY: What's your connection to Stephanie Walters and Dr. Calista Colby?

BASSER: They were two of my operatives. Stephanie was one of my most skilled negotiators. She brokered numerous ceasefires between local tribal leaders in southern Afghanistan.

HETTY: And Dr. Colby?

BASSER: She was advising the engineering companies working on the country's infrastructure, namely the building of the highway connecting Gardez with Khost…You look skeptical. Contact the CIA. I was making regular progress reports.

[OPS center.]

NELL: I'll talk to Langley, see if the files exist.

[Basser’s house. Sam and Callen enter in the office, as silently as possible]

SAM: (whispers): I'll search for the files in his bedroom.

[He leaves the office. G types on the computer, connects a flash drive]

CALLEN: Could use a little help here with a password, Eric.

[OPS center.]

ERIC: All right, give me a sec.

[In the stairs. Sam is trying avoiding any noise]

HETTY: [voice] How did you meet Stephanie?

BASSER: [voice] Through a friend in Norfolk.

[Sam glances and sees Basser’s head. He turns on his left]

BASSER: [voice] I wish I had more information for you, but, uh...

[OPS center. All the cameras footages are on the screen.]

BASSER: [voice over video] this is all I know.

KENSI: Trouble.

DEEKS: Sam, you got a five-year-old bogey down the hall to your left.

[Hallway]

SAM: Which way do I go?

DEEKS: [over radio] Uh, he's coming right at you. Just duck in where you can.

[Sam enters the room at the bottom of the hallway. Obviously a playroom. He’s looking for a place for hiding. A ball hits his head]

SAM: What-What the...?

[The elder boy is staring at him]

MARK: What are you doing in my playroom?

SAM: (sighs) Fixing the lights. [He smiles]

MARK: I'm supposed to scream if strangers talk to me.

[Sam waves to prevent him to scream]

SAM: What's your name?

MARK: Mark.

SAM: My name is Sam. Now we're not strangers.

MARK: Then what are you doing here?

[Sam looks around, spots a cards deck]

SAM: Want to see a cool trick?

MARK: Mm-hmm.

SAM: You do?

MARK: Mm-hmm.

SAM: Let's see.

[He grabs the cards]

SAM: I'll show you something. Got a really cool trick for you. All right, here, hold the deck. Hold the deck.

[He hands it to the boy]

SAM: Okay, so I take this card, right? This four of hearts. See it?

MARK: Yeah.

SAM: Okay, so I take that little four of hearts, boom. [He taps on the card] It becomes a queen. That's pretty cool, huh?

[Living room. Hetty is showing the photo they found in Cosby’s camera]

HETTY: Do you know this man?

BASSER: No, I don't know him. Look, I have no idea who would want Stephanie and Dr. Colby dead. I do know that there were a number of radical Muslim groups with ties to the Taliban in the region. And that they don't like American interference, and they don't like women, and they especially don't like the inroads we're making through cease-fires.

HETTY: Even so, it seems a long way to come to hunt down these two women. Hard to believe the Taliban has the resources.

BASSER: These networks are growing every day. Nothing surprises me anymore.

[Basser’s office. Files are scrolling on the screen]

CALLEN: Almost done uploading, Houdini. Hang in there.

[Playroom]

SAM: Give me that ball right there. [Small ball] Toss it. Toss me that. All right. Okay, watching that?

MARK: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

SAM: 'Cause I've heard that this ball likes to just run and hide. Okay, come here, ball. Grab it. Look at that, look at that, look at that, look at that...[He moving his fingers, opens them]

MARK: Whoa.

SAM: It's gone. Wait a minute, what's that? What's that? [He watches under the boy’s arm] What was that doing under that armpit? [He has found the ball]

[both laugh]

SAM: Isn't that amazing?

[OPS center.]

DEEKS: How'd he do that?

KENSI: He's good.

[(computer beeps)- “download complete”]

ERIC: All right, you're free and clear, Callen.

[Basser’s office.]

CALLEN: Got it.

[He disconnects the flash drive]

[Playroom]

SAM: Watch this. Okay, ready? Ready? Okay.

[he juggles with 3 blocks]

[OPS center.]

KENSI: Nanny's on the move.

DEEKS: Sam, you might want to take the exit right behind you.

[Playroom]

SAM: [whispering] I'm gonna go now, all right?

MARK: Bye.

SAM: Shh.

[Mark smiles and waves at Sam who’s already outside]

MARK: Bye, Sam.

[Callen joins his partner from the top of a roof and they go hastily away]

[Living room]

HETTY: You knew the danger, but you sent Stephanie and Dr. Colby in anyway.

BASSER: And you don't put your agents in the line of fire daily? Stephanie and Calista knew the risks. They believed in what we were doing. Look, Hetty, I'm on your side. I'm using all my resources to find out who killed them. My agents are my family. You of all people should know that, Hetty.

[NCIS office. Kensi is at her desk in front of her laptop]

KENSI: It's all here. Hundreds of reports on Basser's network, all sent to the CIA.

[Deeks is sitting down opposite)

DEEKS: According to Nell, Langley confirmed these were all logged.

KENSI: God, they're not just about Afghanistan either. Some date back years.

DEEKS: Maybe Basser was telling the truth and he's providing valuable intelligence. Maybe he's a good guy.

ERIC: Hey. I got ahold of security tapes from Whitley University. A man entered Dr. Colby's office after her last appointment. [He puts photos onto the screen]

NELL: Meet Greg Reyes. He's a known associate of our motorcycle rider Jose Agosto. They were both suspects in a shooting two years ago, but there wasn't enough evidence to charge them.

ERIC: We searched Reyes's phone records. He received several calls in the last two weeks from a Dennis White.

NELL: Who is… our mystery man from Afghanistan.

DEEKS: What do we know about him?

NELL: He's an executive at Talberton Oil. That's him in Kabul with two of our murder victims, Stephanie Walters and Calista Colby. [Photo found in the camera] He also placed two calls to Reyes within an hour of Stephanie's murder.

KENSI: So what's the connection between Stephanie Walters, Larry Basser and tribal leaders in Afghanistan? And how does an oil company fit in?

DEEKS: Unless we've got this backwards, maybe it's not about brokering peace deals between warlords, maybe it's all about oil.

-------------------- ZAPPING -------------------

[Marina. A man and a woman are going ashore from a yacht]

CALLEN: Dennis White?

WHITE: Yeah.

SAM: NCIS. [They show their badges]

CALLEN: You know a Stephanie Walters or a Dr. Calista Colby?

WHITE: Never heard of them. Careful, honey. [He helps the woman]

WOMAN: Yeah.

[Sam shows the photo on his phone]

SAM: Ring a bell?

WHITE: I meet a lot of people for work. I don't even know where that was taken.

CALLEN: Well, we'd ask them, but they're both dead.

[The woman is horrified, White astonished]

[OPS center. Nell has put on the screen a map and files and is briefing Kensi and Deeks]

NELL: So, Eric got access to Cliff Bosworth's cloud drive. Turns out, Stephanie uploaded dozens of documents--maps, satellite images, geophysical surveys written by Dr. Colby, and a purchase agreement for a parcel 100 miles from the pipeline being built by Talberton Oil.

DEEKS: Well, that's nothing too out of the ordinary for somebody that's gathering intelligence and facilitating cease-fires.

KENSI: Why go to the trouble of uploading this to a personal cloud drive?

DEEKS: Because Stephanie didn't want anyone else to have access, for some reason.

KENSI: Maybe Stephanie and Dr. Colby uncovered something they shouldn't have, like a shady handshake deal or a secret pipeline.

DEEKS: And Stephanie uploaded the proof to her cloud drive. Nell, do we know who purchased the land in that deal?

NELL: Uh, we don't, but I'll look into it.

ERIC: Guys, guys, I'm just getting something. Okay, the shooter, Greg Reyes, popped up on a security camera at LAX. He was heading into the parking garage three hours ago.

DEEKS: All right, let's search all flight manifests around that time, figure out where this guy was going.

ERIC: Actually, he never even got on a plane. Cameras caught him leaving 45 minutes later.

KENSI: Eric, zoom in.

[The’re the man in the back seat of the car]

KENSI: He was picking someone up.

NELL: Whoa. That's Casey Freed. He's another one of Basser's operatives. Stephanie mentioned him in one of her reports. They met a week ago in Afghanistan. Uh, just flew in from Kabul, cleared customs at LAX. Swiped his credit card at The Sunset House.

DEEKS: That's a private members-only club. There's a five-year waitlist just to get on the waitlist.

KENSI: Shall we?

DEEKS: I think we shall.

[They go away]

[Kensi and Deeks get out of the car. Kensi hands her keys to the valet and follows her partner]

KENSI: How come I always have to be the straight-laced-- thanks--boring one and you get to be the...

DEEKS: The handsome and witty one? 'Cause that kind of just comes naturally. No cover is gonna conceal that.

KENSI: (laughs) I say that I am a stylist from Paris flying through L.A. for an awards show, and you get to be my intern.

DEEKS: Your intern? Are you serious? 'Cause I could be your model.

KENSI: haha!

DEEKS: Or we could just ask Casey Freed why he was picked up at LAX by a hit man.

KENSI: If he's working with Basser, he's not gonna talk. He's gonna stall until the deal goes through.

[They stop in the building entrance]

DEEKS: All right, so we're just gonna agree to disagree then?

KENSI: Yep.

DEEKS: So, stalemate.

KENSI: Uh, more like a standoff.

DEEKS: So what are we doing about cover?

[He’s heading back to the door]

KENSI: (chuckles): Well, like I said, it's a standoff.

[Deeks moves quickly and rushes into the lift]

KENSI: So...

[She notices she’s alone]

DEEKS: Snooze, you lose!

[He presses the button]

KENSI: What?

DEEKS: See you up there.

[and the doors close…]

KENSI: Deeks, wait. I...

[Boatshed. Sam and G are in the interrogation room with White]

WHITE: I have no idea what happened. I didn't know they were dead until you told me.

CALLEN: What's your connection with Greg Reyes? [He shows his photo]

WHITE: He's private security. He travels with me to Afghanistan.

SAM: You spoke to Reyes twice last night. Why?

WHITE: I leave for Kabul tomorrow. We needed to discuss my itinerary.

CALLEN: And your connection with Larry Basser?

WHITE: (sighs) He's the one who introduced me to Reyes. Basser is a consultant for my company. As part of his contract, he provides executive security when we travel.

SAM: What other services does Basser provide?

WHITE: We hired him for his contacts in Afghanistan--people on the ground who have connections to local tribal leaders. We're constructing a major oil pipeline that runs through an area controlled by a local tribe.

SAM: And you were facing opposition.

WHITE: The tribal leader's against it.

CALLEN: So you needed Basser to negotiate with him.

WHITE: Yeah.

CALLEN: What was your interaction with Stephanie?

WHITE: Well, we met for the first time about five days ago. But I'd call it more a confrontation than a meeting. She had just discovered that Basser was using her connections to help my company secure the oil pipeline. She thought she was there to broker peace deals for the military. Stephanie left the meeting very angry.

CALLEN: Did she speak with Basser after she found out?

WHITE: I don't know. I never saw her again. And Larry said he'd handle it.

CALLEN: Handle what exactly?

WHITE: The tribal leader.

SAM: And when was he gonna do that?

WHITE: Today.

[Sunset house Terrace. Kensi joins Deeks already talking with a woman]

DEEKS: Oh. (British accent): Don't be so glum, sweetheart. Come meet Melissa Peters. She manages the club.

MELISSA: Nice to meet you, Ines. I am so sorry...about your situation.

[Kensi tries to hide her astonishment]

DEEKS: Oh, don't be shy. It's all over the tabloids. The whole world knows that that love-rat footballer dumped you at the altar. 600 guests at Blenheim Palace. Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, uh, Sir Elton, Dame Edna. I mean, this is probably the worst thing you can do to a woman, am I right?

MELISSA: (sighs) I just went through a bad breakup myself.

DEEKS: You did?

MELISSA: It'll take time, Ines.

DEEKS: Takes time.

MELISSA: Bikram yoga and burning his photos will help.

KENSI: Oh.

DEEKS: I was just saying to Melissa that we managed to avoid the paparazzi on Sunset. Somehow, they caught wind that Brazil's most famous topless model escaped to L.A. after her doomed wedding. We just want to have a quiet bite. I thought that, um, our club in London had arranged everything.

MELISSA: Normally, we don't have reciprocal privileges, even with the Molton House in London…but I'll make an exception.

KENSI: (laughs)

MELISSA: Go ahead that way. You'll find the pool, a restaurant and two bars.

DEEKS: You're an angel. You are. I'm in love with you. I am. Positively in love with you.

KENSI: (laughs)[[They go to the pool bar]

KENSI: That was your English accent?

DEEKS: Yeah, but it kept slipping between Captain Jack Sparrow and Mary Poppins.

KENSI: Mm-hmm. And topless model?

DEEKS: What are you talking about? That's a compliment. Have you seen those Brazilian magazines? They have high standards there.

KENSI: (chuckles) And isn't Ines the name of that burlesque dancer/professional mud wrestler that you were seeing?

DEEKS: Again, a compliment. She's both graceful and athletic.

KENSI: Okay. Oh, heads up. There's Freed, and he's on his laptop.

DEEKS: Just who we need. Do your thing, Ines.

[Kensi removes her shirt and Deeks turns his eyes away of her chest wearing only a little sleeveless T shirt]

DEEKS: Wow. That just happened.

KENSI: Good?

DEEKS: Yeah.

KENSI: Good?

DEEKS: Definitely.

[She leaves him, he looks at her back]

DEEKS: Definitely... good.

[Freed is typing on his laptop, sitting at the bar] (indistinct chatter)

KENSI: (with Portuguese accent): Is this seat taken?

[Freed, surprised, looks at her before answering]

FREED: All yours.

KENSI: I'll have what he's having, please.

[Deeks takes a seat in Freed’s back]

FREED: Where are you from?

KENSI: I'm from a small town outside of Rio.

BARTENDER: Here you go.

KENSI: Thank you.

[Deeks connects a flash drive to the laptop]

KENSI: I've only been here one week.

FREED: How do you like it?

KENSI: It's wonderful except the policy at the pool. I don't know why they require a bathing suit when we are swimming here, you know? (Giggling): It's so silly.

FREED: Mmm.

KENSI: [Pointing at the opposite of the laptop] Is that Beverly Hills?

FREED: Um, over there by the ocean, and, uh, that's the Hollywood Hills.

KENSI: (gasps) Oh, I always wanted to see the Hollywood sign when I was a kid.

[Deeks disconnects the flash drive]

KENSI: Mm... hmm. Anyway, saúde. So where are you from?

[OPS center. Callen rushes inside; Sam follows him. Eric is typing on his keyboard]

CALLEN: Anything come up on Freed's hard drive?

ERIC: Yeah, a potential goldmine. He's another one of Basser's operatives. We found the usual intelligence reports, but there is one odd thing--

[He points at a map on the large screen. Nell joins them]

ERIC: Basser sent the tribal leader classified information on Talberton's pipeline.

NELL: I thought Basser was working with the oil company.

CALLEN: That can only mean one thing.

SAM: Basser's going to use the tribal leader to attack the pipeline.

(Alarm beeps)

ERIC: Oh, boy. Someone is trying to access Basser's encrypted site using Stephanie's log-in name.

CALLEN: You got an IP address?

[Eric types]

ERIC: Yeah. Cliff and Stephanie's house.

SAM: You think Cliff's hiding something?

CALLEN: Let's find out.

[Cliff’s house. The door is ajar when Sam and Callen want to enter. They pull out their guns. The place is a mess. They search it, don’t find anybody. They enter the kitchen and hear voices outside]

MAN: Come on, let's go! Let's go! Go! Let's go! Go!

[Through the window they spot 2 men pulling and pushing Cliff. They chase them.

CALLEN: Freeze!

SAM: Federal agents!

[One of the men stops and shoots at them. The other takes Cliff across the street. Panicked people scream. Callen and G avoid the bullets, then Sam hits the man who groans and falls onto his back. The agents run but when they reach the street, Cliff is pushed into a car; children and their coach are in the middle of the road, kneeling because on the gunfire]

SAM: Get out of the way! Out of the way!

[They run as fast as possible]

MAN: Go, go! Come on!

[But it’s too late: the car starts - (tires screeching)]

-------------------- ZAPPING -------------------

[Sam and G are just entering the office]

CALLEN: Any luck tracking Reyes's SUV?

ERIC: Working on it. [He’s in the stairs]

CALLEN: What about Basser?

[Nell helps herself with coffee]

NELL: Well, they hit paydirt on Stephanie's cloud drive. Turns out the land a hundred miles west of the Talberton pipeline is owned by one of Larry Basser's shell corporations.

[She puts a map on the screen; Deeks and Kensi are at their desks, Hetty is here too]

DEEKS: So Basser helps the local tribal leader blow up Talberton's pipeline and suddenly Talberton is looking for a safer route.

CALLEN: So Basser is driving business to the land he already owns.

NELL: Mm-hmm.

SAM: Why would a decorated soldier and career NSA agent betray his country?

HETTY: Larry saw his best friend die in Fallujah. The NSA turned its back on him. They made him the scapegoat. He was never the same. He lost his wife, his career, his reputation...After that day, I think a part of him decided he would only be loyal to himself…Nell, how much time before they attack that pipeline?

NELL: According to Stephanie's intel, less than two hours.

HETTY: I'll inform SecNav. Perhaps we can cut off the militants before they get to the pipeline.

ERIC: Hey, I just retrieved an e-mail Cliff Bosworth got an hour ago.

[He puts it onto the screen]

KENSI: From Stephanie...?!

ERIC: She sent it from the Internet café before she died, but scheduled delivery for today.

KENSI: "Cliff, I'm giving myself 48 hours to figure things out, but if anything happens to me, give this log-in name and password to my old boss at the Navy, David Forbes. He'll know what to do. I love you. Stephanie."

DEEKS: That was her fail-safe.

ERIC: I checked Cliff's cell phone records--he made a call to Commander Forbes, which was never picked up.

SAM: So he started digging around on Basser's site himself.

DEEKS: Basser wouldn't risk kidnapping Cliff, unless he thought he knew something.

SAM: Like where Stephanie hid the evidence against him.

(Computer beeps)

ERIC: Guys, I got Basser's guy Reyes. He's three miles out at sea. Just logged on to Basser's network.

CALLEN: Sam, we're gonna need a boat.

[Boat. (Punch thuds, man grunts) Cliff is tied on a chair and beaten…He groans, he coughs]

REYES: Either he doesn't know anything, or he's tougher than he looks.

CLIFF: Go to hell.

REYES: Yeah, you first.

(Boat horn blows)

[In a boat a sexy woman (Kensi) is waving and shouting – Deeks is filling buckets with water; smoke is coming out from the engine compartment]

KENSI: Please help!

(Boat horn blowing)

REYES: [to one of his men] Take over.

[He grabs a gun and heads towards the front deck with a man. Cliff is once more punched…]

KENSI: Hey!

DEEKS: Hey!

KENSI: Hello! Over here!

REYES: [to his man] Stay there.

KENSI: Hello!

DEEKS: Hey!

KENSI: Hey!

DEEKS: Hey!

KENSI: Help us! Excuse me, sir! Please help us! There's a fire on board. We don't have a radio. Can you please help us?

DEEKS: Hey!

KENSI: We need help!

[Reyes is coming closer to Kensi- he hesitates but her bathing suit is very little…At the back of the board, 2 men in wet suits are coming silently onboard. They’re armed…]

[G is aiming at the guy inside with Cliff]

CALLEN: Federal agent!

[The man grabs his gun but Callen shoots him twice in the chest. He yells, Sam kills the 2nd security guy who falls overboard (groans) and Reyes starts running opposite: Kensi and Deeks point their guns at him]

KENSI: Federal agents!

DEEKS: Freeze!

[Reyes is blocked: G’s gun is on his way…]

CALLEN: Drop your weapon! Drop it!

DEEKS: On your knees! Get down!

[Inside, Sam is untying Cliff]

SAM: You okay?

CLIFF: Yeah, man.

[Basser’s house. The ex-agent is working on a swing set in his garden]

HETTY: That's quite a swing set.

BASSER: Yeah, the, uh, the boys just left. They went back up north with their mom. I promised I'd have it finished when they got back. If she ever lets them come back.

HETTY: I'm sorry you're not going to be able to finish it.

BASSER: …How much do you know?

HETTY: Everything.

[He sighs and grabs in his toolbox…a gun]

HETTY: Thinking of shooting me, Larry?

BASSER: Yeah, the thought crossed my mind.

[She smiles]

BASSER: Why did you come?

HETTY: You saved my life once. Loyalty is important to me, too. They're going to be here in about five minutes, and then my hands are tied.

BASSER: Five minutes. Not long in a lifetime.

HETTY: No, it's not, at all.

[She leaves him…When she’s no more in sight, he… (Gunshot). She doesn’t stop. G and Sam are just getting out of their car; they run towards her]

HETTY: I got here too late.

[G and Sam exchange a look, G starts running to the back of the house, Sam follows him; Hetty sighs]

[NCIS office. Sam, Callen and Kensi are working at their desks. Deeks join them]

DEEKS: Okay. Oh, what are we...Heading out already?

[Callen has taken his bag]

DEEKS: You don't, you don't want to grab a beer?

CALLEN: Hmm-mm.

DEEKS: No? Maybe some Chinese food? Or Italian? Come on, man, [Sam] I know you love Italian. Or you [Kensi] and I could do some on-line shopping. You want to buy some shoes? Maybe some cutlery?

KENSI: You got nowhere to go, do you?

DEEKS: No, that's not true. I just love spending time with you guys. Is that such a crime?

[Callen zips up his bag]

DEEKS: Okay, fair enough. Fumigation Company called. They said I can't get back into my place until after midnight.

CALLEN: Sorry, buddy. I got plans. [He goes out]

DEEKS: Oh.

SAM: [leaving too] Diving trip in Cancún. Got a flight to catch. (Snaps fingers)

DEEKS: Can... Cancún?

KENSI: Hey. I don't mind a burger and a beer.

DEEKS: Yeah?

KENSI: Yeah. If you pay.

DEEKS: Done.