Épisode Le projet Sinclair (1/2) S04E05 - NCIS : Los Angeles Saison 4

Sam est couché, mais pas endormi- la douche dans la salle de bains voisine est occupée. Son téléphone sonne ; il répond, en jetant un œil sur sa montre : 3H10 du matin…Etonné d’entendre la voix de Frank Turner, il se rend vite compte qu’il s’agit d’un enregistrement. Qui lui dit que tout est parti en enfer et qu’il faut qu’il ailler voir de ses propres yeux…Sam jette un œil sur sa femme toujours sous la douche, enlève son alliance et se lève.

Les lumières d’un camion de pompiers qui s’éloigne se reflètent sur la chaussée détrempée quand Sam se gare devant un bâtiment, du genre industriel plus que d’habitation. Il n’y a pas de lumière, et la porte devant laquelle il s’arrête a été forcée. Il sort son arme, entre prudemment dans une pièce emplie du sol au plafond de livres et papiers divers. Sa lampe torche finit par éclairer des jambes, un corps, pendu à une poutre, très haut. Le visage du mort le fait grimacer. Soudain, un bruit, suivi d’un trottinement : Sam plonge à l’abri ! Il s’agit d’un caniche blanc géant ; il regarde son visiteur en remuant faiblement la queue ; l’agent spécial semble perplexe…

         

                                                                     Générique

Sam est toujours dans le loft ; il secoue la tête en découvrant sur le bureau des médicaments, au milieu de papiers et de livres. Callen apparait ; lui aussi s’éclaire à la lampe torche. Il dit à Sam qu’il est désolé, quand il découvre le cadavre pendu. Mais son équipier n’est pas vraiment affecté, il ne le connaissait pas beaucoup, ils avaient seulement fait partie d’une opération conjointe 8 ans plus tôt, et ne s’étaient pas revus depuis. Donc pourquoi l’avoir appelé lui ? Le chien se met à aboyer – Sam l’a enfermé dans les toilettes. Ça aussi, c’est bizarre : un caniche ! Sans compter qu’il n’y a pas d’échelle, et que Turner n’était pas du genre sportif. Ce n’était pas un agent de terrain de la CIA, plutôt une tête pensante – un peu barge, d’ailleurs, il s’était fait virer de l’agence depuis.

Le courant, et donc la lumière, qui reviennent les font sursauter ; un antique tourne-disque passe un air classique. Callen sourit : Turner, comme les autres génies de la CIA, avait un faible pour les joueurs de baseball. Il observe le mur couvert de graphiques et de papiers. La voix d’Eric qui lance un hello interrogateur retentit. Il entre et s’arrête net devant le corps toujours pendu – c’est pour éviter ce genre de spectacle qu’il ne sort jamais des OPS. Callen lui lance que Spiderman le protègera. Le Geek est en effet vêtu d’un pyjama aux couleurs du héros…

Il est venu avec sa tablette et leur explique que quelqu’un a franchi les pare-feux du centre informatique de gestion de l’eau et de l’électricité de la ville et a créé intentionnellement une surcharge dans le transfo qui alimente ce quartier. Le courant a sauté automatiquement. Ce qui demande une grande maitrise du sujet quand on sait que le système est protégé contre les attaques terroristes. Les caméras de l’entrée et de la rue ont bien sûr cessé de fonctionner le temps de la coupure de courant.

Le visage de Nell apparait sur la tablette d’Eric ; les cheveux en pétard, elle baille. Elle est dans la salle des OPS et a déjà découvert que le message reçu par Sam était programmé et protégé : Turner devait l’annuler manuellement tous les jours ; sinon,  il était envoyé…

Deeks et Kensi arrivent au loft, ce qui fait à nouveau aboyer le chien. Deeks se précipite dans les toilettes pour le délivrer ; et change d’avis quand il découvre un caniche. Ce type de chien est trop snob pour lui- et absolument impossible à dresser ! Kensi lui fait remarquer qu’ils font partie des 3 races les plus intelligentes … Sam intervient : Turner était un agent très bien formé, donc menant une vie des plus ordinaires pour se fondre dans la masse ; hors de question qu’il ait pu posséder un tel animal. Callen charge alors Deeks et Kensi de trouver d’où il provient et pourquoi il était chez l’ex-agent de la CIA.

Le caniche se retrouve bientôt assis dans la salle d’interrogatoire, où il patiente pendant que Deeks le surveille depuis la pièce adjacente. Kensi a fait passer les photos à Nell, qui va vérifier s’il est déclaré volé ou perdu. Deeks se sent l’âme d’un chuchoteur et veut « parler » au chien en tête à tête. La bête grogne quand il entre, ce qui le pousse à rester à distance. Il envoie son équipière chercher du bacon. Et dit au chien qu’il connait un refuge qui fait gratuitement  les castrations –le chien gémit et baisse la tête !

Dans le loft de Turner, Eric fait la tête : lui qui a horreur des papiers, il est servi. Et Sam est formel, le gars était de la vieille école, pas d’ordinateur ou de stockage numérique quelconque. En tout cas, même s’il ne faisait plus partie de la CIA, il suivait de près l’actualité du terrorisme mondial. Nell apparait sur la tablette d’Eric qui se précipite : il voulait lui dire qu’il avait été surpris qu’elle soit aussi  bien habillée à 4 heures du matin, ce qui voulait sans doute dire qu’elle avait un rendez-vous ; et en même temps sa coiffure montrait qu’elle sortait du lit. Donc soit elle dormait chez elle mais alors elle ne serait pas habillée comme ça ; soit ce lit n’était pas le sien, donc…Callen l’interrompt. Cela ne le regarde pas, et il est plus urgent de se pencher sur les infos que leur donne la jeune analyste. En vérifiant les enregistrements de la caméra d’entrée, elle a noté qu’une femme blonde est venue 3 fois en deux semaines. Une certaine Megan  Hendley, hôtesse de l’air, à qui G et Sam partent rendre visite.

Pendant ce temps, Deeks s’est assis face au caniche et lui raconte que c’est à la suite d’une morsure d’un de ses congénères qu’il a peur d’eux. Kensi revient avec le bacon, son équipier lui explique  que le chien a fini par se confier : il s’appelle Chaucer. Kensi comprend quasi immédiatement, elle lui sort de la poche un lecteur de puces électronique : le chien est identifié ! Et il partagerait bien un peu du bacon que les 2 compères avalent sous son nez…

Sam se gare devant chez Megan. Le capot de la voiture stationnée dans l’allée est encore chaud : la jeune femme vient de rentrer. Mais personne n’ouvre la porte quand Sam frappe. G l’aperçoit au travers de la fenêtre  se glisser dehors par la porte de derrière. Ils se précipitent, se séparent ; Sam longe un portail de fer quand Megan surgit du rebord du balcon de la terrasse surplombant la ruelle et lui lance ses deux pieds dans la poitrine. Sam est projeté contre le métal et se retrouve une arme sous le nez. Mais Callen braque à son tour son flingue sur la femme et lui ordonne de lâcher le sien si elle ne veut pas mourir. Megan lève les mains, Sam s’empare de son arme, protégé en permanence par son ami.  Cette femme n’est certainement pas hôtesse de l’air…

       

Et en effet G reçoit confirmation de son statut d’agent de la CIA, par téléphone, une fois qu’ils sont tous entrés dans la maison. Megan explique que Turner ne travaillait plus pour l’agence depuis deux ans, mais qu’ils avaient une liaison. Elle sait qu’il est mort, elle a passé un coup de fil officiel à la morgue. Non pas que ce soit une habitude ( !) mais la veille elle avait eu un message de sa part disant qu’il pensait ne pas rester en vie bien longtemps et qu’elle-même était en danger – d’où la réception chaleureuse faite à ses visiteurs. Ces derniers temps il se sentait surveillé – elle pensait qu’il était paranoïaque ; s’il était brillant, il souffrait aussi d’obsessions, de dépression, il se montrait difficile, têtu…Mais elle l’aimait – parce qu’on ne choisit pas toujours de tomber amoureux ! Sam est touché, et  G lui jette un regard compréhensif. Il relance la discussion sur l’objet des recherches de Turner. Megan leur dit qu’il s’agit du projet Sinclair.

A la fin de la guerre froide, Reagan et Gorbatchev se sont rencontrés à Reykjavik et des rumeurs ont circulé sur leur discussion à propos de la révélation d’agents dormants au sein de chacun de leur pays –armés de petites bombes nucléaires. Pour beaucoup simple  légende, Turner était, lui, persuadé que ces agents et ces armes étaient en place depuis la fin des années 60. En cas de guerre, chacun aurait eu une arme braquée sur sa tempe. La mission Sinclair devait retrouver ces agents et récupérer les bombes. Mais la CIA était persuadée que Turner était barjot, et ne voulait même pas entendre parler ce qu’il avait découvert. Pour Megan, jamais Turner ne se serait suicidé : il était trop en colère et avait trop de choses à prouver.

Les agents du NCIS repartent ; Callen veut savoir si ça pourrait avoir a un rapport avec la mission sur laquelle Sam avait travaillé avec Turner, mais il semble que non. A l’époque il s’agissait d’une vente d’armes par un trafiquant russe à un réseau d’Al-Qaïda. La légiste les appelle : elle veut leur montrer un truc « étrange ».

Le corps porte les marques d’une mort par pendaison, et aucune trace de lutte ne contredit le suicide. Mais dans son estomac, la légiste a retrouvé une sorte de ruban, un bout de tissu qui peut être utilisé dans une branche de Yoga (on mâchonne du tissu en vue de se nettoyer l’estomac). Sauf que Sam repère des caractères sur la bande placée en chambre stérile, comme des morceaux de lettres majuscules. Les agents repartent avec le ruban.

Et retournent précipitamment dans le loft à la recherche…d’une batte de baseball par exemple. Sam pense qu’il s’agit d’une technique ancienne, la scytale, utilisée  par les Spartes dans l’antiquité pour se faire passer des messages pendant les batailles. Or Turner savait que Sam avait étudié les cultures des peuples guerriers. Le ruban une fois enroulée autour de la poignée, les lettres apparaissent complètes. Mais ne forment pas de mots pour autant. Il faut en percer le code.

Kensi et Deeks sont retournés aux OPS où Nell leur montre le pédigrée de Chaucer, descendant d’une longue lignée de champions. Il est même parti deux fois à Paris pour des saillies. Ce qui laisse Deeks rêveur – être payé pour forniquer à Paris, il aurait dû naitre chien ! Turner l’a acheté il y a un mois, et l’a aussitôt inscrit à un concours. Nell a comparé les noms des inscrits et des juges avec ceux retrouvés par Eric dans les papiers du défunt, et celui de Robert Pierce est le seul commun. Il présente au concours un caniche (noir), une femelle nommée Uma. Il mène une vie des plus ordinaires, sans aucun casier judiciaire, et aucun passé militaire. Une liaison avec le loft ne leur en apprend pas davantage. Peut-être que Turner voulait approcher  ce type en utilisant Chaucer ; le concours ayant lieu demain, Callen charge Deeks et Kensi d’y présenter le chien.

Les deux agents quittent la salle des OPS et descendent l’escalier. Deeks est persuadé que Chaucer a honte de sa coupe de cheveux ; Kensi doute de son habilité à parler aux chiens, mais à propos de coupe de cheveux, il va falloir qu’il domestique la sienne s’il veut se faire passer pour Turner. Deeks se cabre : pas question d’aller sautiller sur la piste avec ce chien. Hetty les hèle : Chaucer est un animal plein d’esprit et complexe, il peut leur en apprendre beaucoup. Et il est loyal, il protègera les arrières de Deeks quand il sera sous couverture. Deeks cède et part avec le caniche, mais le met en garde : pas question qu’il se dandine et soit la risée des dobermans…Ce qui fait sourire Hetty.

Pendant ce temps Eric a compris comment Turner a encodé son texte : en utilisant un cipher, un chiffrement. Callen se récrie : bien sûr, le cercle des espions, il adorait s’en servir quand il était gamin, c’est le premier truc d’espionnage qu’il a eu. Les autres sont un peu perplexes devant son enthousiasme, mais il a raison, c’est l’utilisation d’une lettre pour une autre ; le code est représenté par deux cercles qui coulissent l’un dans l’autre : le plus à l’extérieur porte les lettres de l’alphabet, celui à l’intérieur les lettres qui les remplacent. Turner a utilisé le procédé plusieurs fois, il faut donc découvrir les codes – et comme le message s’adresse à Sam, les clés sont ici, quelque part au milieu de centaines, de milliers de documents…

         

Le lendemain Deeks et Kensi confirment leur inscription au concours et repèrent très vite Uma, et son maitre. Marty s’aperçoit que tous les chiens ont un toilettage impeccable, il emprunte donc la brosse de Kensi – qui la lui passe avec répugnance, mais Chaucer a vraiment une frange pitoyable…Déjà les concurrents pour l’agility sont convoqués. Deeks veut faire un discours d’encouragement à Chaucer, histoire de mettre toutes les chances de leur côté pour attirer l’attention de Pierce. En fait, il souhaiterait surtout que le chien lui dise ce qu’il est censé faire…

Uma est déjà au départ et, encouragé par son maitre, vole au-dessus des obstacles, passe dans les tunnels, virevolte autour des piquets et termine sous les applaudissements de la foule. Deeks supplie son chien de l’aider, puisque l’un comme l’autre sont obligés de faire « ça », c’est leur travail. Chaucer est au départ, le chronomètre est lancé mais l’animal reste assis. Concentré, mais immobile comme une statue. La foule commence à rire, Deeks à perdre espoir ; il prononce par hasard le mot magique de « Start ». Chaucer s’élance alors dans une course éperdue que Deeks s’efforce de suivre. Le caniche maitrise parfaitement son sujet, se débrouille tout seul et dans un temps canon. Kensi observe son parcours à côté de Pierce et d’Uma. Elle a échangé quelques mots avec lui, et quand Chaucer en termine, elle propose de le faire reproduire avec sa chienne. Mais Pierce n’est pas intéressé et s’éloigne. Kensi attend Deeks, occupé à féliciter son chien – il l’embauche sans réserve le jour où il voudra se lancer dans la recherche de bombes. Il rejoint son équipière et ils repartent en coulisse, mais Uma et son maitre ont disparu.

Ils courent au parking – ils sont là, prêts à partir. Pierce se précipite derrière son volant ; Deeks tente de l’arrêter en lui parlant d’une saillie ensemble (enfin, ce n’est pas ce qu’il voulait dire) mais l’homme démarre rapidement. Sauf qu’il s’arrête aussi vite, mis en joue par Kensi. Il sort de sa voiture, elle le menotte ; il ne comprend pas ce qui lui arrive…

Conduit en salle d’interrogatoire à l’annexe, il est interrogé par Deeks et Kensi sous l’œil de Sam et G à côté. Il savait bien qu’ils n’étaient pas nets, c’est le propriétaire de la femelle qui demande une saillie, pas l’inverse. S’il a fui, c’est qu’il sort d’une  relation difficile, et que son ex le suit partout. Il a embauché un détective, qui lui a dit que sa maison était sous surveillance, mais pas par son ancien copain. Il leur montre la photo de celui qui l’espionne ; il se demande s’ils bossent pour lui,  et ce que tout ça veut dire.

Nell confirme que Pierce a déposé des plaintes plusieurs fois contre son ex auprès de la police. Kensi est sorti de la salle d’interrogatoire pour montrer la photo du type qui surveillait le propriétaire d’Uma.  Sam reconnait Turner. Mais celui-ci recherchait des espions soviétiques – pas un type aussi jeune que Pierce. Eric, toujours dans le loft, ajoute alors une pierre à l’édifice : il a trouvé un papier avec la question « Deux parents noirs ? » - Or Pierce est afro-américain. Turner s’intéressait vraisemblablement à ses parents, qui habitent dans la Vallée. Callen est sûr d’une chose : le jeune Pierce n’est au courant de rien.

Le temps de se rendre dans la Vallée, et Sam et G arrivent chez les Pierce, une petite maison anonyme. Le père du jeune homme leur ouvre. Sa femme est atteinte de la maladie d’Alzheimer, son fils les aide du mieux qu’il peut, il s’occupe du courrier, paie le loyer. Il ne voit vraiment pas pourquoi un agent de la CIA pourrait s’intéresser à eux. Les deux équipiers non plus, d’ailleurs, d’autant que oui, Pierce a deux parents noirs. Ils ne s’attardent pas, repartent à leur voiture.

Ces gens n’ont rien d’agents secrets russes ; pourtant Turner les soupçonnait bel et bien. Sam se demande s’il n’était pas vraiment barjot, finalement ; après tout, sa compagne le trouvait paranoïaque. Mais G souligne que son équipier le trouve aussi paranoïaque de temps à autre ; or ils savent tous les deux  qu’il se doit de l’être parfois. Et la porte de Turner a bel et bien été fracturée. Et un gros véhicule stationné derrière eux réveille le côté parano de G. L’air de rien, Sam démarre et s’immobilise dans la rue adjacente, ce qui leur permet de voir 3  hommes en costume descendre de la voiture. Sam se lance aussitôt dans une marche arrière furieuse, les agents jaillissent de la Challenger et sont accueillis avec des coups de feu. Ils ripostent, la fusillade se prolonge, les forces étant équilibrées. Jusqu’à ce qu’un des gars s’effondre – sauf que ni Sam ni G ne l’ont touché, mais bel et bien Pierce père, qui manie le pistolet avec maestria. Les rescapés ne demandent pas leur reste, ils décampent dans leur voiture, à l’abri des balles.

Sam s’approche de Pierce et lui enlève son arme. Il va devoir s’expliquer.

Ce qu’il fait dans la salle d’interrogatoire de l’annexe, un peu plus tard. Il a appris à tirer dans un stand de tir. Quand il a entendu les coups de feu dans la rue, il a attrapé son arme et s’est précipité. Il pensait aider. Mais il ne connait pas ces types, et ne voit vraiment pas pourquoi ils en avaient après lui. D’ailleurs, c’était sans doute les agents qui étaient visés. Pierce s’inquiète pour son fils et surtout sa femme. Elle doit prendre ses médicaments à heure fixe. Sam le rassure, ils sont dans un endroit sûr, et avec une infirmière.

L’homme éclate de rire quand les agents lui demandent s’il est un agent soviétique. Est-ce qu’il a l’air d’un agent soviétique ? A ce moment là, Nell fait sortir les agents pour leur montrer la tête d’un certain Kozlov, dont elle a repéré la voiture roulant à vive allure, non loin du loft de Turner, à l’heure de sa mort. C’est un russe, un ancien du FSB qui pourrait donc toujours en faire partie. Il est inconnu de Callen. Par contre, sur les photos mises sur grand écran par Nell, Sam reconnait le  visage d’un homme en train de parler à Kozlov. Il s’agit d’Isaac Sidorov, le trafiquant d’armes russe pisté par la force conjointe qui avait réunie Sam et Turner. Après avoir appartenu au FSB, il avait fait partie de l’entourage de Poutine lors de son 1er mandat, avant d’exercer son nouveau « métier ». Plusieurs agents avaient tenté de s’infiltrer dans son organisation, sans y parvenir. Sauf un.

Hetty s’invite dans la discussion : ils ont un sérieux problème. Si Turner enquêtait sur des agents dormants, et qu’en l’apprenant le FSB a envoyé Sidorov sur les pas de Turner, cela veut dire que le projet Sinclair est bien réel. Sam a du mal à croire que des agents soviétiques puissent être  actuellement sur le sol américain avec des bombes nucléaires.  Hetty  souligne que l’intérêt avec lequel la CIA comme la NSA suivent leurs investigations est lui plus que réel. Callen ajoute que le FSB ne se trompe jamais – et que donc, s’ils ont tenté d’éliminer Pierce père…

        

Les deux équipiers retournent interroger ce dernier, cette fois plus carrément. Pourquoi vivent-ils, lui et sa femme, de manière à ne pas pouvoir être trouvés, cachés derrière leur fils ? Pourquoi un agent de la CIA cherche-t-il à les approcher ? Comme Pierce jure ne rien savoir, ils changent de tactique : sa femme et son fils vont retourner à la maison de la Vallée, mais lui restera ici. Quand Sam commence à mettre cette menace à exécution, Pierce craque : sa femme et son fils sont tous ce qu’il a. Il réclame l’immunité pour sa femme. Les agents refusent, l’homme se braque : autant qu’elle meurt tout de suite plutôt que de moisir en prison. Hetty intervient dans l’oreille de ses agents : qu’ils accordent l’immunité.

Ils s’engagent auprès de l’homme pour la sécurité de sa femme et les soins dont elle ne peut se passer. Il se tourne alors vers Sam : est-ce qu’il sait ce que cela représente, de garder un secret tout au long de sa vie ? Sam sait, mais se contente de marmonner que ça ne doit pas être simple. Pierce  ne sait pas trop  par où commencer.

Il choisit de les emmener dans une cave. Il tâtonne à la recherche d’une lampe, il  ne vient pas souvent ici. Les parois aveugles sont habillées de plaques d’acier. Au centre un gros cylindre plus grand qu’eux est recouvert d’un drap que Pierce arrache. Sous les yeux effarés de Sam et G c’est une bombe nucléaire qui apparait. 17 kilo-tons, plus puissante qu’Hiroshima. Un secret effectivement très lourd à porter…

Sam emmène Pierce à l’extérieur, où d’autres agents vont le prendre en charge. Mais avant, l’ex-SEAL voudrait savoir pourquoi il en est venu à trahir son pays ; pour de l’argent ? Le vieil homme a un rire amer : il pense qu’il est américain, mais en fait lui et sa femme sont somaliens. Lors du coup d’Etat de 1961, des russes sont venus et les ont emmenés en URSS. Ils avaient 9 ans et s’étaient révélés excellents en langue étrangère : ils parlaient anglais. Là-bas, jour et nuit, ils ont été conditionnés, nourris à la doctrine soviétique. En 1973, ils ont embarqué dans un sous-marin en tant que mari et femme et débarqué au large de Seattle ; il a eu  un passeport, une identité et un métier. Ils n’ont pas été repérés parce que les russes savaient que jamais les américains n’imagineraient des agents soviétiques noirs.

A la question de Sam, Pierce répond froidement qu’il aurait actionné la bombe si on le lui avait demandé : il avait été conditionné pour ça. Mais seulement au début. Après quelques années, il avait une femme, un fils…et n’aurait jamais pu le faire. Il ajoute, juste avant d’être emmené : «l’amour, la famille, se révèlent  de bien meilleurs moyens de persuasion que la peur »…

Sam retourne dans la pièce où G est resté avec la bombe. Des spécialistes du FBI seront là dans un quart d’heure pour s’en charger. Ils font le point, encore sous le choc de cette découverte. Donc le FSB a mis Sidorov sur Turner parce que ce dernier avait raison ; il y a  d’autres agents soviétiques dans le pays ; à faire sortir du pays ou à éliminer pour effacer leurs traces. Sauf que Sam sait que Sidorov ne partage aucune des convictions idéologiques du FSB. C’est un trafiquant d’armes, - et vendre celle-ci représenterait le top du top de la vente…Il sait probablement qu’il y a d’autres agents, d’autres bombes, et que Turner les avait découverts. Ce qui veut dire que ce que l’homme avait avalé, ce qu’il voulait protéger et faire connaitre à Sam, est sans doute une liste de ces agents…

Ils retournent précipitamment dans le loft, où Eric n’a pas avancé d’un pouce. Ils décident de tout reprendre à zéro :

Turner savait que le FSB et Sidorov étaient après lui, il avait codé les noms, il était prêt. Cette nuit là le courant saute : il sait qu’ils arrivent. Il avale le papier, appelle les pompiers pour qu’ils n’aient pas le temps de fouiller son appartement ; Mais il sait qu’il sera torturé, et il a les noms gravés dans son cerveau. Pour ne pas risquer de parler, il se tue. Mort pour sa patrie. Et pour que tout cela ne soit pas vain, comme personne jusque là n’a voulu l’écouter, il  choisit d’alerter l’homme qui ne  laissera pas tomber : Sam.

Celui-ci repense à l’appel reçu dans la nuit: « regarde avec mes yeux », et si c’était à prendre au sens propre ? Le voilà qui grimpe sur une étagère, il se retrouve à l’endroit où le corps était. Vu d’en haut, les livres sur le  bureau forme quasiment un cercle : voilà le fameux cipher. Callen remarque que certains livres ont un marque-page ; et leur première lettre est soulignée – et il y en a 26, comme les lettres de l’alphabet…

Aussitôt Sam et G donnent dans l’ordre les lettres à Eric qui les rentrent dans sa tablette, où le décodage se fait automatiquement. Mais cela ne forme pas encore une liste de noms, c’est le moyen de décoder la suite : « deux lettres pour une ». Eric entre alors les deuxièmes lettres que lui donnent les agents et la machine « traduit » : une liste de 11 noms apparait, parmi lesquels James et Donna Pierce ;  ils ont réussi !

Eric est retourné aux QG, et croise Nell dans les OPS. Elle l’aborde, elle tient à lui dire que son rendez-vous l’autre soir était avec Hetty, qui l’avait invitée à boire un verre ; qu’elle l’a fait boire plus que de raison, comme d’habitude, et qu’elle n’a donc eu d’autre choix que de dormir là-bas…Tous les autres les interrompent en entrant dans la pièce, où manifestement ils ont été convoqués :

Les Geeks ont bien travaillé : ils ont retrouvé  les agents, dont les identités sont sur le grand écran. Ils ont traqué les trous dans les histoires (un certificat de naissance mais pas de scolarité dans le primaire, par exemple) ; il y a deux couples, ce qui a facilité les recherches pour eux. Pour un autre, par contre, c’est en se rendant compte que sa photo alors qu’il était enfant ne cadrait pas avec la morphologie de sa tête d’adulte qu’ils ont mis la main dessus…

        

Ils vivent dans les 8 plus grandes villes américaines (ou du moins les plus peuplées dans las années 70 et 80) : New-York, Philadelphie, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Dallas, San Diego, et donc Los Angeles pour les Pierce. Chacun d’entre eux pourrait posséder une bombe nucléaire. Comme les dites bombes sont à l’intérieur des frontières, quiconque les achète les utilisera sur le sol américain…L’inquiétude se lit sur tous les visages.

Hetty demande à Nell de lui passer le département de la sécurité nationale du FBI ; peu importe qui, le premier qui décrochera ; d’urgence.

           ------------------------ A SUIVRE ------------------------------

 

[Sam is in bed, his phone rings; it’s 3.10am; the shower is running in the bathroom]

SAM: Hello?

TURNER [over phone]: Sam, Frank Turner. If you're hearing this, it means it's all gone to hell. A lot of people think I'm crazy.

SAM: How'd you get this number?

TURNER [over phone]: I guess I might be, a little. But please try and see this through my eyes. No one else can seem to. I need your help. You know where I am.

[A click means the end of the call. Sam sighs, glances at her wife in the bathroom; he removes his ring, puts it on the bedside table]

 

[The lights of a fire truck are flashing in the night; there’s is indistinct radio communication – a distant train whistles. Sam stops his car and goes into a large industrial building- in the dark. He heads to a door – someone broke it. Sam pulls out his gun, and pushes slowly the door; it creaks. Sam lights the room with his flashlight; it’s full of books from ground to ceiling. Speaking of ceiling…a body is swaying over Sam. A dead hanged guy. Sam hears clattering in distance- he jumps on his left and lights the place where it comes from: a dog, a white poodle, comes in. Sam looks puzzled…]

 

                       ♫ ♫ NCIS: LA 4x05 ♫ ♫ Out of the Past ♫ ♫

                            ♫ ♫ Original air date on October 30, 2012 ♫ ♫

 

[♫ Sam shakes his head, looking at meds and files on the desk; the door opens – he lights the guy coming in]

CALLEN: It's me.

[Both light the body]

CALLEN: I'm sorry.

SAM: It's not like that. Didn't know him that well. We did a joint task force together eight years ago. Haven't seen him since.

CALLEN: Why'd he call you?

SAM: That's the million- dollar question.

[They hear the dog barking]

CALLEN: He's got a dog?

SAM: Big-ass poodle. Doesn't make any sense. It's in the bathroom.

CALLEN: You're not a poodle guy?

SAM: Why breed a dog with an Afro?

CALLEN: I think you're just jealous.

SAM: No ladder.

CALLEN: Well, he could have climbed up over here, stood on top, swung the rope over the beam.

SAM: Turner wasn't the most athletic guy. He was brilliant, but a little nutty.

CALLEN: He wasn't a CIA field agent?

SAM: No, he was more of a reader, researcher. He had a lot of crazy theories. I heard the CIA tossed him.

[There’s switch clanks, light is on -classical music plays on an old turntable]

CALLEN: They always like baseball, don't they? The geniuses at the Agency?

[He looks at photos on the wall – among lot of papers]

CALLEN: Those stats and numbers...they obsess over it.

SAM: Turner was always doing crossword puzzles...word games.

[From somewhere in the building]

ERIC: Hello?

CALLEN: We're in here.

[Eric stops dead in front of the body]

ERIC: See, it's 'cause of stuff like that I don't leave OPS.

[Callen lights his shirt – “Amazing Spiderman” pajamas top]

CALLEN: Spiderman will protect you.

SAM: Those pajamas come with feet?

ERIC: I cut the feet off.

CALLEN: Come on.

ERIC: I don't wear footy pajamas. They don't come in my size.

SAM: Did you forget your gear?

[Eric pulls out his tablet. He starts working]

ERIC: The transformer for this part of the grid was intentionally overloaded when someone circumvented the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's firewall.

CALLEN: I saw a security camera down at the entrance.

ERIC: Yeah, there are three covering the building and eight traffic cameras outside. Unfortunately, they all went out when the power went out.

SAM: Taking out the power is a great way to cover your tracks.

ERIC: LADWP's computer system is designed to stop a cyber-terrorist attack. Whoever did this has got mad skills.

CALLEN: If someone wanted to make it look like a suicide, why blow the door?

[Sam sighs]

SAM: Nothing's adding up.

CALLEN: Start looking at street cams just outside the area where the transformer blew.

[Eric obeys but the OPS pops up]

NELL: [Over video] Hey.

[She yawns]

ERIC: Hello. Um, you look...

[OPS center]

NELL: Sleepy.

[Turner’s place]

SAM: He was gonna say "beautiful."

NELL: Oh.

[OPS center. Nell is disheveled]

NELL: Okay, well, um...the recorded call you received, it came from a message service.

[Turner’s place]

NELL: [Over video] It was a fail-safe. So if Turner didn't manually cancel the automated message every night...

[Turner’s place]

SAM: It called me.

[He exchanges a look with Callen. Deeks and Kensi appear]

DEEKS: This where the party's at? Ooh.

KENSI: This does not look like a party.

DEEKS: Yikes. We know him?

SAM: Kind of.

[The dog barks]

DEEKS: He's got a dog? Oh, poor little guy. His master is dead. He's stuck in a bathroom.

[He opens the door- the poodle whimpers]

DEEKS: Oh. A poodle? No. Sorry, I don't do poodles.

[He closes the door]

DEEKS: Huge attitude, un-trainable.

KENSI: Actually, they are one of the three most intelligent breeds of dog.

DEEKS: Well, I will have you know that Monty is brilliant and humble.

KENSI: Monty eats sponges.

DEEKS: This is true.

SAM: Turner was a high-level CIA agent. He was trained to live inconspicuously. There's no way he'd have a dog like that.

CALLEN: [To Deeks] Find out where the dog came from and why Turner had it.

DEEKS: Me and the...

CALLEN: Poodle.

 

[Boatshed. The poodle is sat in the interrogation room. Deeks is watching him on the large screen in the observation room. Kensi enters]

KENSI: Nell's got the photos. Let's see if the dog's been listed as stolen or missing.

DEEKS: Hmm... think I'm gonna have to go spend some time with him, alone.

KENSI: Why? What's going on?

DEEKS: Nothing. I just got a way with animals.

KENSI: Okay, when you say it like that, it sounds really creepy.

DEEKS: What, you never heard of the dog whisperer?

KENSI: Just because you have Monty doesn't mean you're the dog whisp...

[Deeks moves closer and puts a finger on her mouth]

DEEKS: Ssst!

KENSI: Oh.

DEEKS: Ssst! Ssst!

KENSI: Don't you dare do that to...

DEEKS: Sit!

KENSI: Hey!

DEEKS: Listen, canines are very sensitive to all this negative energy.

KENSI: Yeah? They can also smell fear.

DEEKS: That's true. Poodles are the pit bull of France.

[He heads to the interrogation room – Kensi speaks for herself]

KENSI: God, my partner is Dr. Dolittle.

 

[Interrogation room. Deeks enters]

DEEKS: How we doing, boy?

[The poodle barks and growls. Deeks stays away]

DEEKS: All right.

KENSI: [Over radio] That didn't sound like whispering. That sounds like growling.

DEEKS: He is angry and confused, and you are not helping.

[He sighs]

DEEKS: You're a handsome devil. What's your name?

[Dog has a low groan]

DEEKS: What's that? She doesn't understand you? Yeah, well, she's my partner. Welcome to my world.

[He laughs]

DEEKS: Yeah, that's true. Yeah, she is very high-maintenance.

[Dog barks and growls]

DEEKS: That's fine. You want to play like that? That's fine. We'll go to plan B. Kensi? Gonna need some bacon.

[Observation room]

KENSI: Oh, really? That's your special skill with dogs? Bacon?

[Interrogation room.]

DEEKS: I need it cooked. Very well done, preferably organic.

[Observation room. Kensi stands up]

KENSI: All right.

[Interrogation room.]

DEEKS: I know a shelter that's offering free neutering.

[Dog has a quiet whimper and lowers the head]

DEEKS: Oh, what? Yeah, that's what I thought.

 

[Turner’s place. Coroner team is taking the body away. Sam and Eric are searching in the paper files. Callen watches the wall, full of maps, articles, data, numbers…]

ERIC: I hate paper. You sure he didn't have a computer I could search?

SAM: Turner was strictly a hard-copy information guy.

CALLEN: Turner may have left the Agency, but he was definitely still gathering intelligence. There's information here on al-Qaeda, North Korea.

[Nell pops up on Eric’s tablet. He rushes towards it/her]

NELL: [Over video] Hey. I did a scan of the building's security cameras' hard drives from before the blackout...

ERIC: [Whispering] Just for the record, I was gonna say that-that you look nice.

NELL: Oh. Well... thank you. So, I went back...

ERIC: I was distracted, because...I was wondering why you were so dressed up at 4:00 in the morning.

NELL: Okay, well, perhaps I had a date.

ERIC: Makes sense. But then I noticed your, uh, your pronounced bed-head, which means that you were asleep.

[She hastily brushes her hair]

ERIC: But if-if you were home, then, um, you would have changed before you came into work, which means that you were asleep but not at home, which means...

[Callen leans over his shoulder]

CALLEN: It's none of your business. [To Nell] What did you find out?

NELL: I looked at the cameras going back two weeks, and I saw that Turner had a guest that came over three times.

[There’s a blond woman on footage. Sam comes close too]

NELL: I got her license plate from one of the outside cameras, and I tracked it from the DMV to this TAS security record.

SAM: Megan Hendley, flight attendant?

CALLEN: Let's see what she knows.

 

[Boatshed. Interrogation room. Deeks is on the floor face to face with the poodle. Kensi comes with the bacon.]

DEEKS: So, that's what happened. Mrs. Allen came in with, uh, her miniature chocolate poodle named Coco Chanel, who you probably would have thought was super hot. The point being that I reached across to try to pet Coco Chanel, and that's when she bit me, hence the two bite marks I had right there and why...I'm afraid of poodles.

KENSI: Are you having a therapy session with a dog?

DEEKS: It took a while, but he finally broke down, spilled his guts. It's actually kind of a sad story.

[Deeks gets up, takes the bacon box]

KENSI: What did he have to say?

DEEKS: He said his name was Chaucer. Ain't that right, Chaucer? Come here. Good boy.

[The dog sits down and looks at the bacon that …Deeks is eating]

KENSI: Okay, nobody names their dog Chaucer. He's just smelling the bacon.

DEEKS: Bacon was for me. His vet...is Dr. Hall on Robertson Boulevard. His previous owner was Jason Young from Tarzana.

KENSI: Did Nell find out the dog was missing?

DEEKS: No. Why are you doubting me?

[She grabs his butt]

DEEKS: Wow, you must really want the bacon.

[She pulls out of his back pocket a chip reader]

KENSI: He's microchipped. You scanned him and got the information.

DEEKS: What? Don't hate on me. I'm the one that knew to look between his shoulder blades.

KENSI: And that is all of my bacon you're getting.

[She takes the box and starts eating and leaving]

KENSI: Send the information to Nell.

[Poor dog is drooling…]

 

[Sam stops his car in front of Megan Hendley’s house. The agents head to the house – G puts a hand on the hood of the car parked in the alley]

CALLEN: Just got home.

[Sam knocks – Callen glances through the window]

SAM: Megan Hendley? Federal agents!

[A woman is running out through the back door]

CALLEN: Back alley!

[They split, Sam looks through a gate –he’s kicked by the woman appearing from above and throwing her feet in his chest- both grunt- Sam crashes heavily backwards against the gate. She aims at him- but Callen points his gun at her head]

CALLEN: Federal agents. Drop it or you're dead.

[She sighs raises her hands; Sam takes the weapon]

SAM: Something tells me you're not really a flight attendant.

 

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

 

[G is on phone in the woman’s house]

CALLEN: Got it. [Whispering to Sam] Hetty got confirmation--she is CIA.

[They exchange a look and stare at Megan]

SAM: You were working with Turner?

MEGAN: Frank hasn't worked for the Company in two years.

CALLEN: You were in his loft three times in the last two weeks.

MEGAN: We were romantically involved.

SAM: No more?

MEGAN: He's dead. Makes it kind of hard.

CALLEN: And you know this how?

MEGAN: An official call to the L.A. Coroner's Office.

SAM: You often call the morgue to find out if your friends are dead?

MEGAN: Frank called yesterday. Left a message. Said he was in a lot of trouble. He didn't think he'd be alive much longer.

CALLEN: He say why?

MEGAN: No. But he thought I could be in danger, too.

SAM: That explains the warm reception.

MEGAN: Last couple days, he thought he was being surveilled. I thought he was paranoid.

CALLEN: Why?

MEGAN: Frank was brilliant but he was...obsessive, difficult, opinionated, depressed.

SAM: And you loved him?

MEGAN: Sometimes you can't choose who you fall in love with, Agent Hanna.

[Sam is hit- G gets it…]

CALLEN: What was he working on?

MEGAN: You ever heard of the Sinclair Project?

[Sam shakes his head]

MEGAN: The Sinclair Project began at the end of the Cold War, when Reagan and Gorbachev met in Reykjavik. It's rumored they discussed the mutual disclosure of long-term sleeper agents inside both countries. Armed with small nuclear bombs.

CALLEN: I always thought that was an urban myth.

MEGAN: Not for Frank--he thought the Soviets had them in the U.S. since the late '60s.

SAM: And if a war broke out...

MEGAN: We'd each have a gun to each other's head.

CALLEN: So the Sinclair Project was the mission to find the sleeper agents in the U.S. and collect their weapons?

MEGAN: The Agency thought Frank was a nut. They didn't even want to hear what he'd uncovered.

SAM: You think he killed himself?

MEGAN: No way. Frank was too angry to kill himself. He had too much to prove.

 

[The agents leave her house]

CALLEN: Any chance that has something to do with the task force you worked with Turner?

SAM: Eight years ago? We had good intel that an al-Qaeda cell was trying to acquire automatic rifles from a Russian arms deal. Something spooked 'em. Deal didn't go down. Everybody disappeared. Task force was disbanded.

CALLEN: Well, if they're not related, why did Turner have the fail-safe set up to call you?

[Sam’s phone rings]

SAM: Go.

WOMAN: [Over phone] We're just finishing up over here. Few things we need you to look at.

SAM: Okay.

WOMAN: [Over phone] One thing's a little odd.

SAM: Medical examiner's got something.

 

[They get into the car and drive to the morgue. Coroner shows them the body]

CORONER: The fractured cervical spine, the rope abrasions, the lividity of the blood trapped in his head, are all consistent with self-inflicted hanging.

CALLEN: Could somebody else have hung him?

CORONER: They could have, but I didn't find any indications of a struggle. That's not the headline, though. Put your gloves on. I found this in his stomach.

CALLEN: What is it?

CORONER: Well, there's a yogic practice--Vastra Dhauti. It's the swallowing of a strip of cloth to cleanse the stomach.

[The strip is in a sterile box. Sam opens it and notices bits of letters all along the strip]

SAM: This is not that. We need to sign this out.

 

[Turner’s loft. Eric is working- Callen and Sam enter]

CALLEN: Something shaped like a pipe or a tube. How big we talking?

SAM: I don't know. The size is the key to the cipher. If you don't know the circumference of the tube, you can't duplicate it.

ERIC: What are you guys looking for?

CALLEN: That.

[He points at a baseball bat]

SAM: It's more conical.

CALLEN: It'd be a better key for the code, right? Harder to duplicate.

SAM: [To Eric] Hold this.

[He hands him the bag with the strip]

ERIC: Whoa, this is the code? Cool! Where'd you get it?

SAM: Turner's stomach. I think it's a coded message called scytale. The Spartans used it to send secret messages during battle.

[He starts rolling the strip around the bat; letters appear – but no recognizable words]

ERIC: And Turner expected you to know about a code like that?

SAM: Turner knew I studied warrior cultures.

CALLEN: He knew it'd be the one code that Sam would recognize.

SAM: This is a message for me.

 

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

 

[OPS center. Nell is briefing Kensi and Deeks]

NELL: Our friend Chaucer has lead a big life. He's descended from a long line of award-winning poodles.

KENSI: Chaucer was flown to Paris twice...to breed.

DEEKS: He was paid to have sex in Paris? I should have been born a dog.

[Kensi looks at him]

DEEKS: I walked into that one, didn't I?

NELL: Turner bought the dog just a month ago, and immediately entered him into the Southland Kennel Club Dog Show, so I cross-referenced the list of names Eric found in Turner's documents with the dog show's judges and contestants, and I found this: Robert Pierce.

DEEKS: He named his dog Uma?

KENSI: Maybe Turner was using Chaucer to get close to this Robert Pierce.

NELL: He's a dog groomer and breeder who's lived in Los Angeles his entire life.

DEEKS: He's got no military and no criminal record. You know what this guy is?

KENSI: Yeah. Boring. Why was Turner looking into him?

DEEKS: Why would he name his dog Uma?

[Eric pops up onto the screen]

NELL: Hey, Eric, do we have anything else on a Robert Pierce?

ERIC: Nothing yet. Still looking.

[Turner’s loft; Eric, Sam and Callen are talking with the OPS]

KENSI: [Over video] So Turner entered Chaucer in the dog show soon after he bought him. Pierce is one of the contestants.

SAM: Well, Turner didn't just stop being a CIA agent, and suddenly get into fancy dogs. Turner was looking at Pierce.

CALLEN: When is the show?

[OPS center.]

NELL: It's tomorrow morning at the L.A. Sports Arena.

CALLEN: [Over radio] Get to the show. Get close to this guy and see what you can find out.

 

[Kensi and Deeks leave the OPS center and go downstairs]

DEEKS: I know for a fact that Chaucer is mortified by that haircut.

KENSI: Deeks, you do not have the ability to talk to dogs.

DEEKS: Hey, trust me-- there is no species in the entire universe where it is cool to have pom-poms shaved into your butt.

KENSI: Speaking of haircuts, you're gonna need a little sprucing up if you're going to be seen with Chaucer.

DEEKS: Whoa, no. Wait a minute-- okay--I may have developed a little bit of a special relationship with this dog, but there is no way that I am prancing around the ring with that animal.

HETTY: Detective Deeks.

[She interrupts them: she’s on the couch with Chaucer]

HETTY: I think there's much for you to learn from Mr. Chaucer. He's a very complex and spiritual animal.

DEEKS: It's not Mr. Chaucer, it's just Chaucer. Which actually makes me want to throw up a little bit every time I say it.

[Chaucer is whining]

HETTY: Chaucer is very loyal. He will have your back undercover.

KENSI: Oh.

DEEKS: You were listening again?

[Hetty shows the leather]

DEEKS: Yeah.

HETTY: Stand tall with your partner, Detective Deeks.

DEEKS: All right. Chaucer, let's go.

[Chaucer is up and following- Hetty pats him]

HETTY: Good boy.

DEEKS: And listen, if you're going to walk next to me, no prancing. I don't want the Dobermans laughing at us.

[Hetty smiles while they go out…]

 

[Turner’s loft]

ERIC: Guys, Turner encoded the code. It's a simple cipher.

CALLEN: Of course. It's the old secret spy ring, from when we were kids. Come on, the spy ring, when we were kids--you turn it and the letters line up? I love that ring. It was my first piece of spy gear.

SAM: I don't think I've ever seen him this excited.

CALLEN: It's a cool ring.

SAM: I know what I'm getting you for Christmas.

CALLEN: All it is, is substituting one letter for another.

ERIC: Exactly.

[He has the explanation on his tablet]

ERIC: Letters on the top of the alphabet, letters on the bottom, are the key. Both the receiver and the sender need the key.

SAM: So the A's become R's.

ERIC: Right. But Turner took the encrypted message, used the new key, and encoded it again. So he probably changed the cipher pattern slightly, each time he did it.

CALLEN: If there is multiple keys, you're going to need all of them to unlock the message.

ERIC: But if he encoded it with a computer, it could be millions.

SAM: He didn't use a code. The message was for me, so the key had to be something he knew I could find. It's somewhere here.

ERIC: There's hundreds of thousands of documents in this room.

CALLEN: Then let's get to work…

 

[Kensi, Deeks and Chaucer are at the registration table]

MAN: Here go you.

KENSI: Thank you.

MAN [over P.A.]: Open miniature, jumpers with weaves, fast, ring two, five minutes.

[Kensi puts their number around Deeks’ arm – he looks around]

DEEKS: Everybody's making their dogs look like Dr. Seuss animals.

KENSI: There is our grooming station.

DEEKS: Up.

KENSI: Come on.

[Chaucer jumps on the table]

MAN (over P.A.): ...ring three for the obedience competition.

DEEKS: Good Chaucer.

KENSI: Good boy.

[She pats him gently]

DEEKS: Hey, uh, give me your hairbrush.

KENSI: For Chaucer? No.

DEEKS: I need a hairbrush, all right? His fro is a mess.

KENSI: Oh, my gosh.

[But she hands it]

DEEKS: I don't know what I'm supposed to do with this. It's like a rat's nest.

KENSI: There's Robert Pierce.

DEEKS: Huh? Oh. And there is Uma.

[Pierce looks at them and smiles]

DEEKS: Not as pretty as her picture. Probably airbrushed. Oh, he's checking us out.

KENSI: Hi.

MAN [over P.A.]: Open standard, jumpers with weaves, fast, ring two, five minutes.

PIERCE: Come on, girl.

KENSI: All right, that's us. Let's get ready.

DEEKS: All right, you go talk to Pierce; I'm going to give Chaucer a pep talk.

KENSI: Mm.

DEEKS: What? The better that we do, the easier it's going to be for you to get close to Pierce.

KENSI: Okay, that makes sense. I was getting a little disturbed by my partner talking to a dog.

DEEKS: You really want to do this? You want to have a fight right in front of him, before the biggest moment of his life? Ittleay, elfishay, ensikay.

KENSI: Okay, the dog doesn't understand English. Why are you speaking in Pig Latin?

DEEKS: Because you're adorable when you get angry.

KENSI: Deeks... ah...

DEEKS: Ssst! See? You're stunning.

[She walks away. Deeks speaks to the dog]

DEEKS: Hey, psst! What are we doing?

 

ANNOUNCER [over P.A.]: Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've been waiting for, open standard.

[Buzzer sounds – Uma starts running]

PIERCE: Okay, over! Chute! Over! Double! Double! Over! Target! Tunnel! Zip, zip, zip, zip, zip! And over! Teeter, teeter, teeter, teeter! Slam! Weave! Weave! Good girl! Weave! Over!

[Deeks watches – worried… Uma finishes her run, the crowd applauses]

ANNOUNCER: That was a great run by Uma, trained by Robert Pierce.

DEEKS: Okay, all right, boy. We got to do this. It's our job, and I have no idea what I'm doing, so I need your help.

ANNOUNCER: Now, Chaucer, trained by Frank Turner.

DEEKS: Okay, you ready? Game face. All right, let's do it. Here we go. Come on, come on. Ho, sit. Sit.

[Chaucer sits and groans]

DEEKS: Good boy. That's a good Chaucer.

[He leaves alone waiting for the time to start. Uma and Pierce are leaving the competition ring; Kensi comes close]

KENSI: That was amazing.

PIERCE: Thank you.

KENSI: I'm Rebecca Turner. Chaucer is my dog.

PIERCE: Oh, great dog. Nice height, good lines.

KENSI: Thank you.

[Buzzer sounds]

DEEKS: All right, and go. And begin. All right.

MAN: Uh, you can go now.

DEEKS: Can we please?

KENSI: All right, yeah. This is our first show.

DEEKS: If you're doing this to get back at me for all the poodle jokes, the only person you're hurting is yourself. Come on, Chaucer. Chaucer, I need you to help me right now. Can you please just start.

[That was obviously the magic word: Chaucer runs!]

DEEKS: Chaucer, here we go.

[The dog runs really very fast]

DEEKS: Over, through! Go over, tunnel. Yeah, come on, come on. Up! Sorry. Climb. Mark...Mark. Up. Tunnel. Come on. Yeah. Over. Easy, easy, easy. Easy. Over. Mark. Easy. Easy. Good boy. Come on, through. Weave. Weave, weave. Oh, you're doing great. You're doing great. Weave, weave, weave... Over.

[Crowd applause]

ANNOUNCER: And that was Chaucer, trained by Frank Turner. 53 seconds!

KENSI: Hey, would you be interested in breeding Uma and Chaucer?

PIERCE: I'm not really interested in breeding right now. Sorry.

[And he hastily walks away]

ANNOUNCER: It looks like a clean run

KENSI: Oh.

[She looks back at Deeks]

ANNOUNCER: after a slow start with no faults.

[Deeks kneels down]

DEEKS: Oh, you did a great job. You're an amazing dog, and if you ever want to get into bomb- sniffing, you call me.

[He runs out with Chaucer and joins Kensi]

DEEKS: Good boy. So, uh, we got a love connection?

KENSI: No. He spooked.

DEEKS: [Muttering] He spooked!

[They go to Uma station]

KENSI: Come on, come on. He's gone.

DEEKS: Parking lot.

 

[Parking lot. Uma is in Pierce’s car]

PIERCE: Good girl, Uma.

[He closes the trunk door]

DEEKS: Hi. Hi, sorry, we really wanted to, uh, to breed with you.

[Pierce looks scared and gets hastily behind the wheel]

DEEKS: Sorry, that sounded a lot creepier than I meant it…

[The engine starts]

DEEKS: …to sound, I just meant that, uh...

PIERCE: I have to go.

DEEKS: All right.

[Engine revs, tires squeal, Pierce backs and turns round but- Kensi is just in front of him with her gun aiming at his head]

KENSI: Federal agents. Get out of the car.

DEEKS: Get out!

[He obeys – she cuffs him]

KENSI: Hands up against the car.

DEEKS: Just FYI, Chaucer would never fall for somebody as tawdry as Uma.

PIERCE: What the hell is going on? Why are you following me?

[Deeks and Kensi exchange a look…]

 

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

 

[Boatshed. Deeks enters, Chaucer at his left, Uma at his right]

DEEKS: Come on, poodles.

[Sam and G stare at him]

DEEKS: Nothing out of you two. Up. Up. Sit. And no inappropriate licking.

[He leaves them side by side on the couch. Sam and G watch and listen to the interrogating room where Deeks has joined Kensi and Pierce]

PIERCE: [Over video] For starters, a stud doesn't ask to breed with a bitch. It is the other way around.

DEEKS: [Whispering to Kensi] I hope you're listening to this.

KENSI: That doesn't explain why you ran.

PIERCE: I was in a bad relationship. My ex-boyfriend was stalking me. I hired a detective who told me there was a man watching my house.

DEEKS: Not your boyfriend?

PIERCE: No.

[He pulls out his phone]

PIERCE: This is the picture the detective got. What is going on here? Do you guys work for him?

[OPS center.]

NELL: Pierce did file several complaints with the LAPD against an ex-boyfriend.

[Boatshed. Observation room. Kensi shows the photo to Sam and G]

SAM: It's Turner.

KENSI: Turner was looking into old sleeper agents with nuclear weapons. Why was he after Robert?

CALLEN: This guy couldn't have been involved with the Sinclair Project.

[Computer chirps]

CALLEN: He's too young.

ERIC: [Over video] Hey, I found this. It says, "Both parents black?" Question mark. I didn't know what to make of it, but then I saw that Pierce was African-American.

CALLEN: Turner was trying to find Robert's parents.

SAM: If one of them was white, they might be Russian. Deeks, ask him about his parents.

[Interrogation room – on video]

DEEKS: Are your parents still alive?

PIERCE: Yes. They live in the Valley.

SAM: Get the address. I want to talk to them.

CALLEN: He'll give up the address. He doesn't know anything about this.

 

[Sam and Callen are in the Valley – at a small house]

CALLEN: Low profile.

[Sam knocks.]

MAN: Who is it?

[A black old man looks at them through the window- Sam shows his ID]

SAM: Federal agents. Just want to ask you a couple of questions.

[Pierce Senior opens the door]

PIERCE: About what?

SAM: About your son.

[They enter. An old black woman is sitting in a rocking chair- she doesn’t notice the agents; TV is playing indistinctly]

PIERCE: She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's two years ago. It's a horrible disease.

SAM: I'm sorry.

PIERCE: Thank you. Is my son okay?

CALLEN: He's fine.

[Pierce Sr. sighs]

PIERCE: Well, he's a good man. Takes good care of his mom and I.

SAM: Is that why he pays the rent, collects the mail?

PIERCE: Yeah, yeah. He does everything that he can so that I can take care of my bride.

CALLEN: Do you have any idea why a CIA agent might want to find you?

PIERCE: The CIA? No. What is this about?

SAM: Just trying to connect the dots. Nothing for you to worry about. You have enough to handle.

[Pierce nods and they leave him. They head towards their car.]

 

CALLEN: You think this guy's a Russian sleeper agent?

SAM: Turner must have thought so. Why else was he investigating him?

CALLEN: I don't know yet.

SAM: Maybe Turner was crazy. His girlfriend called him paranoid.

CALLEN: Would you call me paranoid?

SAM: Sometimes.

CALLEN: Sometimes I need to be.

SAM: Somebody blew that door open.

CALLEN: Tell you the truth, I'm feeling a little paranoid right now.

[He opens the door of the car, staring at his hand]

CALLEN: Did you catch the guys in the car back there?

[Sam sighs, gets in the car, he glances at the back mirror]

SAM: I got them.

[He starts the engine]

SAM: I'll pull around the corner.

[He stops – they still see the car]

CALLEN: That's not good.

[Three men in suit get off the black SUV- Sam made his tires squeal by running backwards to the men – Callen pulls out his gun; as do the men – they exchange gunshots – one of the men is hit but neither by Sam nor G: Pierce has shot him – he has a gun and know how to use it; Two of the men get back into the car. Sam, G and Pierce shoot again but the vehicle is bulletproof - they’re gone…Sam takes Pierce’s weapon]

SAM: We need to talk.

 

[Boatshed. They talk…]

SAM: Three heavily armed men come to your house, and you don't know why?

PIERCE: I don't know what else you want me to say.

CALLEN: Where'd you learn to shoot like that?

PIERCE: West Valley Gun and Ammo. I heard the shots. I grabbed my gun, I ran outside. I thought I was helping.

CALLEN: I'm just not buying it, James. You know who those guys were. You know why they were there.

PIERCE: I'm telling you, I don't know who...I don't know who they were. Maybe they were there because of you. Where are my wife and son?

SAM: They're in a safe location.

PIERCE: Well, my wife, she has medications she needs to take at specific times.

SAM: She has a nurse with her. She has her meds.

[Pierce looks relieved; G and Sam exchange a look]

CALLEN: Are you a Soviet agent?

[Pierce is surprised; then he smiles]

PIERCE: Do I look like a Soviet agent to you?

[He scoffs but the agents still stare questioningly at him.]

[Observation room. Nell pops up on screen in front of Kensi and Deeks]

NELL: [Over video] I finally found a car heading out of the blackout zone near Turner's loft, and I got a name.

[Sam and G leave the interrogation room, to get the intels]

NELL: The car was moving fast at roughly Turner's time of death. I, uh, traced the license to a man named Kozlov.

SAM: Know this guy?

[Callen shakes his head]

NELL: [Over video] This is what the CIA has on him. Russian, former federal security service agent.

[She puts on screen many pics and the ID of Kozlov]

SAM: He could still be FSB.

CALLEN: So whatever Turner was investigating, it made Russian Intelligence nervous enough to go after him.

SAM: Blow up the photo in the upper left full screen. I want to see the guy Kozlov's talking to.

NELL: According to the CIA, his name is Isaac...

SAM: Sidorov. Sidorov is the arms dealer that the task force was monitoring when I was working with Turner.

KENSI: Well, that at least explains why Turner contacted you.

NELL: [Over video] Sidorov worked in Putin's network the first go-around and is a former FSB agent.

SAM: He's an arms dealer now. Several agents tried to go undercover inside his network. Most never got close.

DEEKS: But one did?

SAM: Yeah.

HETTY: We have a major problem here.

[She’s in OPS with Nell]

HETTY: If Frank Turner was looking into old sleeper agents...

CALLEN: And FSB found out about it and asked Sidorov to investigate Turner...

HETTY: That means the Sinclair Project...

CALLEN: Is real.

HETTY: Exactly.

SAM: Soviet agents are here now, armed with nuclear weapons?

HETTY: The NSA and the CIA are already tracking our investigation. That means their interest is most definitely real.

KENSI: All of this explains why the Russians killed Turner, but why go after James?

CALLEN: FSB is never wrong.

[They go back…]

 

[…To the interrogation room]

CALLEN: You and your wife are living in a way so you couldn't be easily found. Why?

PIERCE: My son was taking care of us.

SAM: A CIA agent was tracking your son to get to you and you don't know why?

PIERCE: Why don't you ask the agent?

CALLEN: He's dead.

PIERCE: I'm sorry. But I don't know what to tell you. I really don't.

SAM: Okay. Your wife and son are getting sent back to your house, but you're not getting released.

PIERCE: Well, what if those men come back?

CALLEN: Why would they come back?

PIERCE: I don't know.

CALLEN: Who were they, James?

PIERCE: My wife and my son are all that I have in this world. Please don't do this.

SAM: Okay.

[He grabs his phone, dials]

SAM: [On phone] Yeah. Cut 'em loose. Send 'em back to the house.

PIERCE: Are you... wait, wait, wait. Okay, wait.

SAM: Hold on.

PIERCE: They need to be kept in a safe place. You need to protect my wife from prosecution.

SAM: I'll call you back.

CALLEN: We can guarantee their safety. But we won't give them immunity. If your wife is involved...

PIERCE: Then you get nothing from me.

[OPS center. Nell and Eric are watching the scene on screen]

PIERCE: [Over video] She might as well die tonight than rot in a jail.

HETTY: Grant the immunity.

[Callen clears his throat – “tells” this to Sam with the eyes]

SAM: Okay. Your wife will be granted full immunity from prosecution.

PIERCE: Safety and care, guaranteed.

CALLEN: Yes.

[Pierce sighs – puts his head in his hands]

SAM: Who were those men, James?

PIERCE: Do you know what it's like to live with a secret your entire life, Agent Hanna?

SAM: I'm sure it's not easy.

PIERCE: Where do I start?

 

[He had chosen to show them something in a basement. He opens a door- the room is dark – no windows]

PIERCE: There is a light in here, somewhere.

[He finds it –turns it on. The walls around them are iron protected. There’s a man-size stuff hidden under a large piece of rag- Pierce removes the tissue: a huge nuclear bomb appears…]

PIERCE: From what I understand, this generates a 17-kiloton explosion.

CALLEN: That's bigger than Hiroshima.

PIERCE: Can you imagine the burden of carrying this secret, Agent Hanna?

 

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

 

[Sam pulls Pierce (cuffed) out of the building where the bomb is hidden- a car is waiting a little further]

SAM: Let me ask you a question. What would make you betray your country? Money?

PIERCE: You think I'm American. I was born in Somalia. In 1961, during the coup, the Russians came to our country. They took Donna and I back to USSR.

SAM: Why you?

PIERCE: We had excelled in our language class. We spoke English. They force-fed us Soviet doctrine, day and night. We were nine years old. In 1973, as husband and wife, we were taken on a Soviet submarine to a fishing boat off the shore of Seattle. I had a passport, an identity, a profession.

SAM: You escaped detection because the Soviets knew Americans would never think a Russian agent would be black. Would you have detonated that bomb if the order came in?

PIERCE: Yes. At first. They had conditioned me to do it. But then...after a few years...I had a wife... and a son. I could never do that.

[H starts following the agents and stops]

PIERCE: Love, family...turned out to be much stronger persuaders than fear, Agent Hanna.

 

[Sam goes back to the bomb room; Callen is watching it…]

CALLEN: FBI's Render Safe unit's 15 minutes out. They'll remove the bomb.

SAM: So FSB asked Sidorov to look into Turner because...

CALLEN: Because Turner was right. There are more agents here.

SAM: Then what was the next step?

CALLEN: Get the agents out of the country, or kill them to cover up.

SAM: That's what FSB would do. Sidorov had no allegiance to Russian Intelligence. He's a for-profit arms dealer. He couldn't give a damn about old Soviet agents.

CALLEN: You just said it. He's an arms dealer.

SAM: He wanted the bomb.

CALLEN: To sell. It'd be the mother of all weapons deals.

SAM: Sidorov knew Turner was tracking the other Soviet sleeper agents.

CALLEN: He gets Turner, he gets the names of the agents. Sidorov knew there were more bombs.

SAM: That's what was in Turner's stomach. It was a list of the sleeper agents. Turner needed me to find it before Sidorov.

 

[Turner’s loft. Eric is pacing up and down with the baseball bat – he sighs. G and Sam enter]

CALLEN: Anything?

ERIC: Without the code keys, it might be impossible.

CALLEN: All right, let's start at the beginning. What happened the night Turner was killed?

SAM: He knew Sidorov and the FSB were onto him. Turner was prepared for that. He coded the names. Had them ready.

CALLEN: Power goes out...Maybe he saw them out the window. He knew they were coming for him.

SAM: He had only minutes.

CALLEN: But he was ready. He swallowed the list of names.

SAM: But he still had the names in his head.

CALLEN: He knew he'd be tortured…

SAM: He did kill himself.

CALLEN: He called the fire department so that Sidorov wouldn't have time to search the loft.

SAM: He did everything he could. No one would listen. And he still died for his country.

CALLEN: That's why you were his fail-safe. He knew you wouldn't write him off.

SAM: He said, "See through my eyes". "See through my eyes..." What if he meant it literally?

[Sam climbs to the place where he found Turner – he looks at the desk from above]

SAM: It's the decoder ring. The piles of books are arranged in a circle.

CALLEN: All the books on top have bookmarks.

SAM: Count how many there are.

[Callen opens then first book with a bookmark]

CALLEN: The first letter's underlined.

[Sam nods approvingly and gets back down on the floor]

CALLEN: Two, four, six, eight, ten, 12, 14, 16, 18...Twenty-six. Just like the alphabet. Wait, so it's the first letter in each book.

ERIC: Read me the letters.

SAM: "N."

CALLEN: "U."

SAM: "K."

CALLEN: "H."

SAM: "R".

CALLEN: "W."

SAM: "A."

CALLEN: "B."

SAM: "F."

CALLEN: "G." Ironic.

SAM: "C."

CALLEN: "E."

SAM: "I."

CALLEN: "P."

SAM: "J."

CALLEN: "D."

SAM: "V."

CALLEN: "Q."

SAM: "O."

CALLEN: "S."

SAM: "Y."

CALLEN: "M."

SAM: "T."

CALLEN: "X."

SAM: That's it.

ERIC: Okay. The first part is decoded. Okay, he-he's telling us he changed the cipher for the next round. It's two letters represent one.

CALLEN: Means every other letter in the code is blank, a-a dummy. Start over. We use the second letter in each book.

SAM: "X."

CALLEN: "Z."

SAM: "P."

CALLEN: "I."

SAM: "F."

CALLEN: "W."

SAM: "S."

CALLEN: "G."

SAM: "O."

CALLEN: "U."

SAM: "Z."

CALLEN: "A."

ERIC: Okay. We got it. It's the list of names.

CALLEN: There's James Pierce's name.

SAM: It's the list of sleeper agents…

 

[OPS center. Eric is back – he’s typing on his tablet – just as Nell is doing too]

NELL: Oh, just so you know, last night I, uh, I went out drinking...

ERIC: It's none of my business.

NELL: ...with Hetty.

ERIC: Oh.

NELL: I wanted you to know. Naturally, she drank me under the table, so I had to stay at her house...

ERIC: Sounds fun. I wish I was there.

NELL: Mm.

[Sam, G, Kensi, Deeks, enter with Hetty]

NELL: Uh, it took a while, but we think these are them.

[They’ve put IDs on screen]

CALLEN: How do you know?

ERIC: Well, some of them had gaps in their history. A birth record but no elementary school record.

NELL: Two are husband and wife, so that made it easy, but with this one, the facial structure of the adult photo didn't match the childhood photo.

CALLEN: Where are these agents located?

ERIC: All over. Houston, Philadelphia, Detroit...

SAM: Eight largest cities in the country.

KENSI: Not exactly.

[On screen: New-York, Chicago, Dallas, San Diego and the 3 already said]

CALLEN: Not now. Those are the eight largest cities back in the '70s and the '80s, when they were put undercover.

SAM: Each one of those could have a nuclear bomb.

[Callen sighs]

CALLEN: And what makes them really valuable is that they're already inside our borders.

DEEKS: So anybody that buys them...

SAM: ...is gonna use them here.

HETTY: Nell, get me the National Security Division of the FBI.

NELL: Who would you like to speak to?

[Screen becomes dark]

HETTY: Anyone who'll pick up the phone. Quickly.

 

                             -------------- TO BE CONTINUED ---------------