[Moscow, Idaho. A sign with the Hollywood letters, blue sky and warm sun, shining on the side road, says: “what are you waiting for?”; But here, it’s snowing, there’s a lot of wind & fog; a car approaches but slides, hits the snow bench, crashes- and sets fire; the driver grunts and groans, but he goes out- a 2nd car is coming – guy steps forwards, unable to run, but he reaches a phone box]
OPERATOR: Please state the nature of your emergency.
MAN: Help me. I crashed my car. Someone's after me.
OPERATOR: I'm sorry, sir, you need to slow down. It's a bad line. Which emergency service?
[The other car has stopped – lights still on; the driver is coming closer to the phone, too]
MAN: Police! Send the police!
OPERATOR: I'm sorry, sir, the line is very bad. Can you speak up? Sir? Sir?
[The man hangs up, looks around]
MAN: Gunner Sergeant Edward T. Tyler, United States Marine Corps. Semper Fi, you son of a bitch!
[But his stalker pulls out a gun and shoots; then he spends time searching the body; the crashed car explodes; the shooter gives up, & heads back towards his car…]
♫ ♫ NCIS: LA 4x18 ♫ ♫ Red Part 1 ♫ ♫
♫ ♫ Original Air Date on March 19, 2013 ♫ ♫
[NCIS office. Deeks arrives at work]
DEEKS: Morning all.
[He stops dead]
DEEKS: There's a box on my desk.
CALLEN: Mind like a steel trap.
SAM: More like a mouse trap.
CALLEN: Mm-hmm.
DEEKS: That looks just like the box that Kensi got a few weeks ago.
SAM: Check the shipping label address, Deeks.
DEEKS: Wait a minute.
[He checks]
DEEKS: Oh, that is the box that Kensi got a few weeks ago. What is it doing on my desk? What is it doing on my desk? No, no, no, no...
[He lifts it off his desk]
KENSI: Morning.
DEEKS: No, this is not what it looks like.
KENSI: Looks like a man holding a box.
DEEKS: An innocent man. I have witnesses. Listen, it was addressed to you, so I was taking it back to you. Which obviously looks like I took it. But I didn't take it. It was put there. Accidentally, maybe, on purpose. And now I'm stuck holding... your box. Wow…
KENSI: I'll just put it on your d...
DEEKS: [together] I put it on your desk.
[Kensi sits down]
DEEKS: You put it on my desk. But it's your box.
KENSI: And now it's yours.
DEEKS: My-my box?
KENSI: Your box. So, if you could just take it off my desk, please.
DEEKS: Just to clarify, you're giving me your box?
KENSI: Uh-huh.
[Deeks sniffs]
DEEKS: Okay. What's in it? What's in the box?
[Box is back on his desk]
KENSI: Open it and find out.
DEEKS: Listen, is this some sort of, uh, devilish trick that's payback for me snooping? 'Cause I didn't do it. I didn't Google the sender of said box in question.
KENSI: It's not a trick, Deeks.
DEEKS: Fine. I'll just, uh...just open it then. Just open the box.
[He pulls out a knife- but hesitates]
DEEKS: Just going to open the box. Nothing to lose here. Nothing to see, just box opening.
[Eric whistles]
ERIC: We got business.
[Deeks stares alternately at Sam, Kensi, G; still hesitating]
ERIC: Hello?
[He whistles again- they still stare at the knife- no one moves…]
ERIC: Hello!
DEEKS: Later.
[He closes the knife and heads to the stairs]
DEEKS: I don't have to play your reindeer games.
KENSI: Whatever.
[She sighs]
CALLEN: She's good.
SAM: Oh, she's very good.
CALLEN: Mm-hmm.
[OPS center.]
HETTY: A two-whistle case, Mr. Beale?
DEEKS: That's my fault. We were dealing with a, uh, delivery of sorts.
HETTY: Oh, yes, the box.
DEEKS: What?
HETTY: A man's been found, shot through the back of the head, execution-style. Mr. Beale.
[Photos on screen don’t match the shooting we saw in the opening scene]
ERIC: The shooting took place four days ago in Griffith Park, but the body wasn't identified until yesterday. An Indonesian national, Rachmed Santoso. Mr. Santoso was a vocal supporter of radical Islam and a suspected arms dealer.
NELL: Increased chatter amongst Taliban groups in Afghanistan in recent weeks indicates a terrorist attack against the United States is imminent.
[The phone rings]
HETTY: [On phone] Yes. Speaking.
NELL: Uh, Santoso dropped off the grid ten days ago, after his name was mentioned in several cell phone intercepts, suggesting he had an involvement in the crime.
CALLEN: What happened to his shoes?
NELL: They're missing. It would appear the killer took them.
SAM: People have been killed for less.
NELL: Santoso had $2,000, in cash, in his jacket pocket, so LAPD ruled out robbery as a motive.
[Hetty hangs up]
HETTY: A change in plans. Ballistics report incoming, Mr. Beale.
ERIC: Got it.
HETTY: Santoso's murder weapon was used two days later two kill a United States Marine in Idaho.
ERIC: Gunnery Sergeant Edward Tyler. He was found beside the road, night before last...shot in the back of the head, execution-style.
SAM: Two victims, same weapon, a thousand miles apart.
HETTY: Pack your bags, gentlemen, you're going to Idaho. Little town of Moscow.
CALLEN: Meeting state or local police?
HETTY: Neither. Our red team's already on the ground. Their case may have national security implications. Ticktock, gentlemen.
[Sam and G leave the OPS]
HETTY: Ms. Blye, Mr. Deeks, find Mr. Santoso's shoes, if you would.
[Kensi sighs]
KENSI: Mm.
[Griffith Park]
KENSI: 22 caliber round. Low noise, low velocity. Bullet rattles around inside the skull. No exit wound.
DEEKS: The ground is still soft from the rain.
KENSI: No clear signs of a struggle. Which means the shooter must've walked up from behind him.
DEEKS: Well, that's weird, there's only one set of shoe prints. Which means our shooter can either levitate and/or, he's a ghost.
KENSI: I don't believe in ghosts.
DEEKS: Really? Hey, uh, how come we don't have a color?
KENSI: What do you mean?
DEEKS: Hetty said that the agents who went to Idaho were the red team. How come we're not, like, the silver team or the gold team or the platinum team?
KENSI: Colors identify each team that work inside that division.
DEEKS: Oh.
KENSI: Blue team, green team, red team. They operate out of Georgia, but they're never home. They work, travel, sleep together. It's basically like living on a submarine.
DEEKS: Wait, what? Stop the press, did you say sleep together?
KENSI: Down, Rover. Separate bunks.
DEEKS: Yeah.
KENSI: They deploy everywhere. Even overseas.
DEEKS: How does one get on one of these teams?
KENSI: You become an NCIS agent, Detective!
DEEKS: Oh, right, yeah.
[Kensi snaps her fingers]
DEEKS: What do you got?
[She has found the shoes]
KENSI: I also don't believe in levitation.
DEEKS: Those are very neatly placed. So, were are looking for a shooter with OCD?
KENSI: Creeps up behind Santoso, pops him, slips on his shoes, walks all the way back down the road, stepping in his own footsteps, eliminating them.
DEEKS: So the shooter's not a ghost, he's just clever.
[Kensi scoffs]
KENSI: Very clever.
[Airport. A man is freezing in the snow. A plane lands, the LA agents get out]
CALLEN: Thanks, guys.
DANNY: Welcome to Moscow, Idaho. Danny Gallagher, Logistics Officer.
CALLEN: Agent Callen.
SAM: Sam Hanna.
DANNY: You guys ever been to Moscow before?
SAM: Not this Moscow.
DANNY: Locals say this one's even colder.
SAM: At least no one'll be trying to kill me here.
[Danny chuckles- they head to his car]
CALLEN: When did your team arrive?
DANNY: Uh, yesterday. We got three agents, two tech supports, including myself, and our team leader, Agent Paris Summerskill.
CALLEN: I've heard of her; never met her.
[Danny clears his throat]
DANNY: Well, right now, Paris is kind of "outranked."
CALLEN: Outranked?
DANNY: Yeah.
[He opens the trunk door]
CALLEN: By who?
GRANGER: That would be me, Agent Callen. Now get your gear in before we all freeze our asses off!
-------------------- ZAPPING -------------------
[Danny stops the car close to huge red trucks]
DANNY: We flew the trucks in yesterday from Florida. You never know where you're going to end up next with this job.
GRANGER: I was in San Francisco when Hetty briefed me. Given the heightened security level, I thought I'd make the detour.
CALLEN: First time I've seen it.
DANNY: It's our home away from home. Trust me, you're going to love it.
[He takes the agents bags and leads the way. Inside, sports broadcast is playing in background; a woman and a man wear T-shirts, obviously it is warm]
DANNY: We're back! Whoo!
[He blows on his hand]
WOMAN: Hi, guys.
MAN: Hey.
DANNY: This is it. State of the art.
MAN: State of the art, my ass. Can you hold this?
[He hands Granger a bucket- water is coming down from the ceiling…]
MAN: Damn snow melt. How come those geniuses down in Washington didn't think about snow accumulating on a flat roof? I told 'em about this last year. They never listen. And I went to Caltech for this.
[Sam and G look around; the woman is cleaning an automatic rifle- on screen, footage from the outside]
WOMAN2: [Drying her hair when coming out of the bathroom]Tell someone who cares, Kai. Do you care, Owen?
GRANGER: Not unless I have to write a memo about it.
Man: Thank you, sir.
[He grabs the bucket]
DANNY: Sam, Callen, meet our boss, Paris Summerskill.
PARIS: Callen... heard a lot about you. You, too, Sam.
SAM: Hope it's good.
PARIS: Mostly. Special Agent Claire Keats.
CLAIRE: Hey. Either of you smoke?
CALLEN: No.
CLAIRE: Damn.
PARIS: Over there, that's Dave Flynn, our forensic specialist and tonight's cook.
DAVE: No vegetarians?
SAM: No.
DAVE: That's a relief. Wait, wait. No vegans either, right?
GRANGER: No.
DAVE: Great. I'll just do the croutons, and supper is up.
PARIS: We'll get an early start in the morning, assuming this storm blows itself out. Walk the crime scene. In the meantime, drop your gear, make yourself at home. The head's back that way. Oh, Danny, the head's backed up again.
DANNY: Oh, man.
PARIS: You guys might want to take a bucket.
[Sam, G and Granger are yet alone]
GRANGER: Welcome to red team.
[They’re eating]
PARIS: Tyler was in Moscow on a five-day leave visiting his sister.
SAM: You've spoken with her?
CLAIRE: Mm. She's pretty cut up. Eddie was her only brother. I'll have some bread. Thanks.
CALLEN: Did Sergeant Tyler have security clearance?
PARIS: Low level. Worked in transport.
[The ceiling creaks- Sam, Granger and Callen looks up- slightly questioning- Paris smiles]
PARIS: He made a call from a roadside emergency phone. Said he'd crashed his car. Someone was chasing him. Emergency services found him about ten minutes later.
CLAIRE: Low-caliber round to the back of the head, like he was executed.
SAM: Motive?
CLAIRE: Definitely wasn't robbery. His wallet, his cash and his credit cards were found next to his body.
PARIS: Not the way Marines normally end up getting murdered, if there is a "normal." The ballistics report linking him to Santoso's murder puts it in a whole different light.
[The phone rings]
DANNY: Incoming! 24/7. We're always open.
[They all move towards the screen. Hetty appears, in the OPS, Eric is slumped in his chair]
HETTY: [Over video] Sorry to crash your supper, Miss Summerskill.
GRANGER: Evening, Henrietta.
HETTY: Owen. Mr. Callen, Mr. Hanna.
CALLEN: Hetty.
SAM: Hetty.
HETTY: [Over video] Just calling to brief you on the latest with the Santoso investigation. Eric?
[Eric is surprised…]
ERIC: [Over video] Uh, right. Uh, the briefing.
[He clears his throat]
ERIC: [Over video] Uh, well, Kensi and Deeks--um, uh, Agent Blye and Detective Deeks, they went to the crime scene and they found Santoso's missing shoes. And, uh, Nell and I, uh, we have been...
NELL: [Over video-pushing Eric back to be in front of the camera] We are in the process of checking Santoso's missing phone records, but nothing to report.
ERIC: [Over video] Yet. Nothing yet.
NELL: [Over video] Right.
HETTY: [Over video] Thank you, Eric.
[She leans forwards, closer to the camera]
HETTY: [Over video] So, how is everyone getting on in Idaho?
GRANGER: Everything's fine, Henrietta.
HETTY: [Over video] Mr. Callen?
CALLEN: All good.
HETTY: [Over video] Miss Summerskill?
PARIS: Um, it's great to have company for dinner.
SAM: Dave makes a mean chicken soup.
DAVE: Fish. It... It was, it was fish.
SAM: That was fish??
HETTY: [Over video] Excellent. We regroup tomorrow. Go to bed. Stay warm. Shut it down, Eric.
[Footage is back on the outside]
PARIS: What was that all about?
CALLEN: Something.
SAM: Something she's not telling us.
GRANGER: Something she may never tell us.
[Callen enters first the bedroom – he picks the best bed…]
CALLEN: Cozy.
SAM: Whoa-whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Why do you get the bottom bunk?
CALLEN: Got here first.
SAM: G, the last time I slept on the top bunk, I rolled over in the morning and landed on a petty officer tying his shoelaces. Broke his arm in three places.
[G waves at the 3rd bed folded against the wall]
SAM: Okay, now that's what I'm talking about.
CALLEN: Hetty's checking up on us.
SAM: Yep.
CALLEN: Take a stab at guessing why?
[Sam sighs]
SAM: Maybe she wanted to see if you and Paris hit it off. She's a good-looking woman, G.
CALLEN: You snore, I'm gonna shoot you. So what's the connection between Eddie Tyler--a Marine with an impeccable military record--and a zealot like Santoso?
SAM: Both shot in the back of the head with a low-velocity round. All the hallmarks of a professional hit.
CALLEN: A professional would never use the same weapon twice.
SAM: The shooter's getting arrogant. He doesn't believe he's ever gonna get caught.
[The door opens: Granger in pajamas and slippers is coming in…Sam and G exchange a look, half amused, half irritated;
GRANGER: Cozy.
[G clears his throat – lies down on his bed]
CALLEN: Yeah, cozy.
[Granger looks at the top bunk – at Sam’s bed, and smiles…Looks like Sam won’t keep the bed he chose.]
[OPS center. Early in the morning. Nell enters; Eric is asleep on his chair]
NELL: Eric? Eric?
ERIC: Yeah, just leaving.
[He sighs, rubs his face with the hands]
NELL: You didn't go home last night?
ERIC: I didn't. I...Is it morning?
NELL: 0500.
ERIC: Oh, my gosh...
NELL: What exactly were you doing all night?
ERIC: Sleeping upright in this chair.
[He rubs his neck]
NELL: Right. But before that? What is this?
ERIC: I was getting a lead on Santoso. On his car. Nell, I found his car.
NELL: Great.
ERIC: Okay. Hetty's unexpected briefing freaked me out because we didn't have anything. I mean, we had nothing. That was, like, a non-briefing. I don't know what she was expecting to hear, but I know she didn't hear it.
NELL: Yeah, yeah, it was weird.
ERIC: Yeah. So...
[He sighs]
ERIC: I stayed and I trawled cameras in the neighborhood where Santoso was shot. Found this.
[He puts onto screen a video: a car stopping in a parking lot]
ERIC: He parked the car in a lot a quarter mile from the road where his body was found. It's still there. And...it was a rental. Santoso was using a fake name and driver's license. But he slipped up. He used a real address.
NELL: It's West Hollywood.
ERIC: Cheap, short-term vacation rentals. I called them. He's been staying there the past couple weeks.
NELL: That's about the same time his name was linked to the planned attacks.
ERIC: Kensi or Deeks?
NELL: Both.
[They each grab a phone]
[Kensi and Deeks fling the vacation rental door open]
KENSI: Federal agents!
[Place is messed up – but empty]
KENSI: Clear?
DEEKS: Clear. Well, either Santoso really likes pizza or he had company for dinner.
KENSI: I think it was more than a dinner party. There are three extra sleeping bags in this room. At least four of them holed up in here.
DEEKS: All right, so how many terrorists does it take to make a cell?
[Kensi pulls out her phone –the phone line rings]
ERIC: [Over phone] Hey, Kens. What do you got?
KENSI: Hey, Eric, we're gonna need any security and traffic cam footage you can find on Santoso's apartment for the past week. Santoso had company.
ERIC: [Over phone] On it.
[Deeks empties a garbage bag on the floor]
DEEKS: Bad company.
[There are a lot of ammos boxes]
DEEKS: Nine-millimeter ammo. Military grade. Enough for someone to start a war…
-------------------- ZAPPING -------------------
[G is up; he’s in the kitchen, helping himself with bread and butter. Paris joins him]
WEATHER REPORTER: ...break out those snow shovels. And we might not have seen the last of it. The National Weather Service is continuing the winter storm watch for Moscow, Potlach...
PARIS: Morning.
CALLEN: Hey.
PARIS: Hey. Which fridge?
CALLEN: I'm sorry?
PARIS: Um, the butter.
CALLEN: The lower fridge.
PARIS: Mm. That might not be butter.
CALLEN: What might that be?
PARIS: Evidence or a sample...or maybe something Dave's growing. Our kitchen doubles as a lab when we're out in the field.
[She laughs]
PARIS: Dave's usually pretty good at labeling things.
[Callen throws back the bread on the table – Paris hands him a cup of coffee]
PARIS: I'm sorry. Here.
CALLEN: Thank you.
PARIS: Yeah.
[They hear a distant thudding]
SAM: Damn!
CALLEN: Sounds like Sam just woke up.
[Paris chuckles; Granger is sitting at a desk with Claire]
CALLEN: They got an early start.
PARIS: Yeah. He told Claire that he wanted to review the evidence that we've collected so far.
CALLEN: Busy crime scene?
PARIS: Hardly. It was snowing. There wasn't much left to find. There was no tire tracks, no footprints. There's no physical evidence.
[Paris puts photos of the crime scene onto screen]
PARIS: The crime scene was processed by the local sheriff's department. It looks like the shooter emptied Tyler's pockets. He was very neat, methodical. The only thing that's obvious that's missing is...
CALLEN: ...his cell phone.
PARIS: Which he used to call his sister ten minutes before he was killed.
CALLEN: You said last night that he called for help from a roadside phone.
PARIS: Right. So why didn't he use his own phone?
CALLEN: Maybe he left it in the car.
PARIS: We checked. So he's driving to his sister's.
[Footage from the night flashes]
PARIS: Suddenly, he realizes that someone's following him.
CALLEN: So he tries to gets away.
PARIS: He loses control on the icy road.
CALLEN: Drags himself out. Maybe keeps running 'cause he's still being chased.
PARIS: He pulls out his own phone to call for help. It's cold, he's shaken up, he's scared. He drops it. We're gonna need a metal detector!
[Crime scene. Danny is looking for the phone with a detector beeping steadily. The police are here; it’s still dark. Sam is on phone]
PARIS: He's got an agenda.
CALLEN: Granger always has an agenda.
PARIS: Maybe he knew the victim.
CALLEN: Or he knew the killer.
PARIS: Well, he'd tell us. Wouldn't he?
CALLEN: Absolutely.
PARIS: You don't like him.
CALLEN: We have trust issues.
PARIS: Mm.
CALLEN: It's an unusual name. "Paris."
PARIS: This coming from a guy whose name is a letter in the alphabet...
[She chuckles]
CALLEN: I could call you by your initial.
PARIS: No, thanks.
CALLEN: It actually has a certain ring to it.
PARIS: No, that's okay.
CALLEN: More of a tinkle.
PARIS: Okay.
[She chuckles again]
CALLEN: Huh?
PARIS: I wa um...I was born in Paris. My mother was a dancer. Yes, and my dad played cello for their band.
CALLEN: Huh.
PARIS: I know, I come from a creative family and I ended up a cop--go figure.
CALLEN: Paris is a beautiful city.
PARIS: Yeah... very romantic.
[They stop talking- start walking- embarrassed- then speak very fast]
CALLEN: It snow much yesterday?
PARIS: Oh, it was heavy. Eased off in the afternoon.
CALLEN: Someone's been here since then.
PARIS: No one from my team.
CALLEN: Well, whoever it was...they spent some time here.
PARIS: Lot of tracks between where Tyler crashed and where he was shot. They were looking for something.
[The metal detector beeps quicker]
PARIS: Maybe the same thing we're looking for.
[Danny digs into the snow- Sam comes closer to Paris and G]
SAM: Santoso was staying in the apartment with at least five other people. Evidence suggests they geared up for a fight.
DANNY: Hey, guys.
[Danny takes a pic of a phone…]
DANNY: Here we go.
[Paris picks it up – the police car is leaving the scene – they drop the phone into a plastic bag]
DANNY: 48 hours in the snow. Looks like we're gonna need a new battery.
[They leave too the crime scene; Danny is driving, Sam at his side]
PARIS: We did a preliminary check on his phone log. Mostly work-related calls, a few family calls, but nothing out of the ordinary.
SAM: Shooter spent valuable getaway time searching the body.
CALLEN: Yeah, and possibly came back for a second look once the crime scene was cleared.
SAM: Has to be the phone.
PARIS: Well, if there's something there, our guys will find it.
[They pass a snowplow – the road is snowbound and not very large]
PARIS: Danny, pull over. Let him pass.
[But the snowplow crosses the road and starts pushing them towards the side, the drop…]
SAM: Pull off! Pull off!
[The truck hits them hard – again, and again.]
SAM: Stay back.
[He shoots the glass of the roof- crashes it, stands up and shoots at the snowplow – it backs]
SAM: Go, go, go!
[Callen and Paris join him, they all shoot through the truck windshield. Callen opens carefully the passenger door – nobody!]
CALLEN: Where'd he go?
[Their car horn honks]
PARIS: Danny?
SAM: You stay with her, I got him.
PARIS: Danny!
[He’s slumped over the wheel- his nose is bloody]
PARIS: Here, I got you. Lean you back. I got you. You're gonna be all right.
CALLEN: [On phone] Kai, we got a man down. Need an ambulance to our GPS location now!
-------------------- ZAPPING -------------------
[In the RED center. The phone is lying on rice and Dave is drying it with a hairdryer while G, Sam and Granger are briefing the OPS]
SAM: I lost his tracks in amongst the rocks. He must've had a car somewhere.
HETTY: [Over video] What about the real snow plow driver?
CALLEN: Uh, dumped in a ditch by the roadside. Shot in the head, low caliber round, same as the others.
[Paris is coming in the truck with Claire]
PARIS: Tell me we got something, Dave.
DAVE: Let's take a look.
KAI: How's Danny?
CLAIRE: He's in surgery. Ruptured spleen, other internal injuries from the impact. They're gonna call us.
[Dave connects the phone]
DAVE: Put it up.
KAI: All right, you should be getting a feed, Eric.
[OPS center.]
ERIC: Got it.
[Red center]
KAI: Okay...half a dozen photos, no saved voicemails, a string of text messages to "Karen."
CLAIRE: His sister.
KAI: And a couple other guys.
CLAIRE: Check the camera roll.
[2 girls]
DAVE: looks like he was having some fun.
PARIS: Any recent videos?
KAI: Uh, yeah.
[On screen: Tyler was filming a crowded airport terminal]
TYLER: [Over video] Man, this is worse than Thanksgiving. Look at all these poor people.
CALLEN: Look at the date.
PARIS: Yeah-- same day he was shot.
GRANGER: What airport is that?
SAM: O'Hare.
CLAIRE: Yeah, he had a layover in Chicago.
TYLER: [Over video] Ooh, she's cute. Sorry, ma'am, I got a girl. I love you, Sara, baby.
GRANGER: That's it?
KAI: That's it.
CLAIRE: Play it again. Towards the end.
PARIS: What are we looking for, Claire?
[Tyler films a woman]
CLAIRE: She looks up, steps back...there, the guy. Behind her. He covers his face. Back it up a couple frames, Kai?
KENSI: CLAIRE: Interrogation room.: Here you go.
PARIS: He filmed somebody who didn't want to be filmed. Kai, facial recognition. We need a name.
KAI: You got it.
GRANGER: Tyler was killed because he shot some innocent phone-cam video in an airport terminal?
DAVE: That sucks.
SAM: Tyler was wearing a Marine uniform. If you're a terrorist, that might be reason enough.
DAVE: He's not from the Middle East. Fair skin, fair hair. The kind of terrorist we should fear the most. One of us.
[OPS center.]
HETTY: Get his photo out to all major airports. Find him. Thank you, Ms. Summerskill. Owen.
GRANGER: [Over video] Hetty.
HETTY: Eric.
[She waves “cut the feed” order]
HETTY: Anything more on Santoso's apartment?
NELL: Kensi and Deeks are still working on it.
[NCIS office. Deeks is shaking the box…]
KENSI: You can always open it.
DEEKS: Or you could just tell me what's inside of it and why you gave it to me.
[She doesn’t answer- puts a satellite photo of the apartment onto screen from her tablet]
KENSI: We need to find out who came and went from Santoso's apartment. No security cameras, no ATMs nearby.
DEEKS: What's this building here?
KENSI: Listed as a private business. Property owner is Amber Starr.
DEEKS: Wait, what? The Amber Starr?
KENSI: I doubt there's two. Do you know her?
DEEKS: Yeah, she runs a string of massage parlors.
KENSI: Security conscious?
DEEKS: Are you kidding me? She's probably got more cameras than the Pentagon, inside and out. But she's not just gonna hand over her hard drive to anyone. But she does owe me a favor…
[OPS center. Tape is rewinding on large screen]
KENSI: Stop. Go back.
[Eric obeys, and zooms on men leaving the apartment and getting into a van]
KENSI: 24 hours ago.
DEEKS: Four guys plus the driver. No prizes for guessing what's inside those duffel bags.
HETTY: Eric, hold it there, please.
[She’s staring at the man about to take the passenger seat]
HETTY: Bugger.
[Red center]
KAI: Got a name on the airport guy. TSA security footage out of Los Angeles. Facial recognition scan. It's, uh, probably a fake I.D., but a Robert Spears flew into LAX at 6:00 a.m. this morning.
GRANGER: All right. I'm gonna send Callen and Sam back to Los Angeles. You can wrap up your investigation here.
PARIS: Okay.
[The phone rings]
DAVE: Incoming.
HETTY: Paris, Owen, we've had a disturbing development. Earlier today, a man named Ari Sayed and four others were recorded leaving Santoso's apartment. They're all Afghani military, and disappeared from a DoD training course last month, in Texas.
PARIS: What sort of training?
HETTY: Advanced aeronautics.
[She sighs]
HETTY: They're all qualified pilots.
[Burbank airport. A plane is landing. Kensi and Deeks wearing vests are waiting for the agents]
KENSI: Spears rented a car when he flew into L.A. Same credit card was used to rent the van that picked up the men at Santoso's apartment. Spears upgraded; got himself a car with GPS.
CALLEN: Where is it now?
KENSI: About two blocks away. Burbank police found it in the driveway of a house owned by a TSA officer. They found his body in the garage, dead less than an hour. His security pass was missing. They also found spray paint can and a stencil with the letters T-S-A.
SAM: Well, Spears is the head of the snake. He took out Santoso, who supplied weapons to his cell. So either he didn't trust him or doesn't need him anymore.
[Meanwhile Sam, Callen and Paris put on vests and weapons – Dave and Claire do the same with Deeks a little further, grabbing their gears from Kensi’s car trunk]
CALLEN: He took out Sergeant Tyler on the off chance someone recognized him.
PARIS: Spears is a Westerner. Which do you think? Money or ideology?
CALLEN: Money, I hope. Both vehicles-- load 'em up.
[OPS center. Granger joins Hetty, Eric and Nell]
CALLEN: [Over com.] Eric, alert Burbank authorities to lock down all vehicle access to the airport. And we need to know which gate TSA personnel use to drive on.
ERIC: Stand by. Callen, end of the street, Gate B.
[In the SUV]
CALLEN: Got it. Sam. The white van. Hang on, Kensi. Stay close.
[Kensi’s car]
KENSI: Roger that.
[Gate B. Spears stops]
GUARD: I.D.
[The phone rings in his office; the guard checks the ID – nods and his partner opens the gate; the phone continues ringing – Spears is in; they close the gate. Tires squealing, the agents’ car crash the gate- Spears spot them in his rear-view mirror and speed up. The back doors open: 2 men with automatic weapons shoot at the nearest car; the windshield is bullet-proof, neither Sam nor G are hit; Sam bangs the rear of the van, the men fall down backwards. Spears stops the van, gets out through the passenger door; another guy takes his seat; he’s shot by Paris. Kensi and G hit 2 other bad guys, like Sam, Claire and Dave.]
CALLEN: Move it! Move it! Paris, with me. On Spears.
[But they’ve lost him…One of the men is wounded]
DEEKS: Turn over! Over!
[The wounded guy is cuffed]
CALLEN: [On phone] Four dead, one slightly wounded.
GRANGER: [Over phone] Spears?
[Callen sighs]
CALLEN: He got away.
[OPS center. Hetty and Granger exchange a look…]
-------------------- ZAPPING -------------------
[NCIS office. Deeks, Kensi, Dave and Claire are at the agents desks]
DAVE: What's in the box?
DEEKS: Wow, that is a fantastic question, Why don't you ask my partner, not that she's gonna tell you.
KENSI: I forgot his birthday. I felt bad, so I decided to get him something that he's always wanted more than anything else in the world.
DAVE: Cool. Claire gave me socks for my birthday. They gave me a rash.
CLAIRE: You already had the rash, Dave.
DAVE: But it got worse. They're warm socks, though.
[Deeks didn’t hear a single word: he stares at his partner, touched]
DEEKS: You really did that?
KENSI: Open it, find out.
[Deeks chuckles, clears his throat]
DEEKS: And what if you got it wrong?
[She doesn’t answer]
DEEKS: I mean, 'cause life doesn't get any better than this moment right now 'cause everything I ever wanted is inside...
[He taps the box twice]
DEEKS: ...this box, right? There's no real reason to open it, then, is there?
KENSI: Nope. There isn't.
DAVE: It's not socks, is it?
[Kensi leaves them; Deeks grabs the box]
DEEKS: I'm just gonna put this up here.
[Paris’ phone beeps off- G met her in the bullpen]
CALLEN: Danny?
PARIS: Yeah, yeah, they're taking him off the critical list.
CALLEN: That's good news.
PARIS: Yeah.
CALLEN: Well, you're a man down.
PARIS: A couple months, that's all. I better tell the team.
[Sam is just coming back from OPS]
SAM: Eric and Nell are checking cell phone calls with the NSA. We might have leads on Spears within the hour.
[G nods]
SAM: I want this guy.
CALLEN: You're not the only one.
[He looks at Hetty at her desk with Granger]
[Hetty shows the phone she has still in her hand]
HETTY: You weren't in San Francisco, Owen. You were in New York, on your way to Washington. You've seen his work before.
GRANGER: Our shooter's got a name now, or at least a face.
HETTY: Long story, is it?
GRANGER: …Red team's a man down.
[She sighs, hands him a file; he reads it]
GRANGER: You really want me to approve this?
HETTY: It's about time they put the past behind them.
GRANGER: As long as you don't expect me to tell her.
HETTY: No. My decision, my job.
[She looks taken aback – a man is entering]
HETTY: Oh, bugger, he's early.
[The man stops near the agents desks; G and Paris are talking together – Hetty and Granger hurry closer]
PARIS: I loved him for that. It was such a crazy thing to do.
[She chuckles; G spots the guy, Paris turns round- obviously they know each other, but she doesn’t look pleased…]
PARIS: Roy.
ROY: Sorry to hear about Danny.
PARIS: Yeah, he's going to be all right.
ROY: Good.
HETTY: Evening, Roy.
ROY: Hetty, sir.
GRANGER: Roy.
HETTY: You're early.
[Roy nods; everyone is here now]
HETTY: Uh, Roy is going to be filling in until Danny's fit for duty.
ROY: You good with that?
[Well…maybe not! She punches him hard in the face and steps out- No one moves…]
DAVE: Whew.
[Granger leans forward Hetty]
GRANGER: I didn't see that.
HETTY: Well, that wasn't so bad, was it, Roy?
[He has a wry laugh]
[Shooting range; Paris is ready to train. She has flashes of the past: an alley, by night; she’s panting. They’re bodies. She speeds up]
PARIS: Roy!
[He’s wounded, lying on the ground. She kneels down at his side]
PARIS: It's okay... okay.
ROY: [Harshly] Where were you?
[She shoots – the whole mag – right hand, left hand. Callen enters]
CALLEN: You okay?
PARIS: Yeah, never better.
[She leaves the range- G looks at the paper target: all the bullets are in the head – and none of them missed. He joins Paris cleaning his weapon in the armory]
CALLEN: Wow. What'd he do?
PARIS: He didn't stay down. Why don't you just go ahead and ask? …About Roy.
CALLEN: Okay. What about Roy?
[She sighs]
[Hetty’s office – Roy and Hetty face to face]
ROY: I should have told you to go to hell.
HETTY: Well, you wouldn't have been the first to make that suggestion. But, look, here you are.
ROY: Why'd you offer me this?
HETTY: But the more intriguing question, Roy, is: why did you accept?
ROY: Redemption.
HETTY: Hers or yours?
[Armory]
PARIS: We used to work together, a few years back. New York Field Office.
[She’s scrubbing her gun]
PARIS: We were partners. Roy was an agent.
CALLEN: When did he stop being an agent?
PARIS: When he got shot.
[Hetty’s office]
HETTY: What happened that night?
ROY: What happened? You sent us out there, Hetty. You set up the operation. You know what happened.
HETTY: You were investigating a weapons dealer in New York. You were ambushed in an alley. Three of the assailants were killed. You were wounded, you almost died.
ROY: That's right. So why are you asking?
HETTY: Because that's not the full story.
[Armory]
PARIS: I work alone now.
CALLEN: I used to work alone.
PARIS: You miss it?
CALLEN: Not since I've been with the big fella. It's good to have a partner.
PARIS: Mm.
[Hetty’s office]
HETTY: You and Paris were such a good team.
ROY: Why are you trying to put us together again?
HETTY: As you said... redemption.
ROY: Ours or yours?
[Her phone rings]
HETTY: Oh.
[Armory; the phone rings]
CALLEN: [On phone] Yeah. Okay, we're on the way.
[He hangs up]
CALLEN: We've got a lead on Spears.
[OPS center. Eric, Nell, Hetty, Granger, Callen, Paris, Roy]
ERIC: Working on the assumption that Spears used his cell phone immediately after we stopped the attack, we checked all calls originating in and around the airport and came up with this.
NELL: A call made to a satellite phone 3 and a half minutes after Spears slipped away.
ERIC: NSA routinely records satellite phone calls. This is what they got.
SPEARS: [Over record] I need you to get me out of here now.
MAN: [Over record] Okay, I get it. Just saying, it's going to take some time for me to organize. It's going to cost.
SPEARS: [Over record] How long?
MAN: [Over record] The day after tomorrow, okay? There's a hotel--the El Centro West Plaza. Book a room, use the name Jackson. You hole up there and you wait to be contacted. Stay away from the border checkpoints. They'll be watching for you. The guy who smuggled you over the border will take you back across. Have you got that?
SPEARS: [Over record] Yeah.
MAN: [Over record] Stay off the phone.
ROY: Spears is English.
CALLEN: The other guy sounds like a contractor. Probably hired to provide technical support.
PARIS: How far is El Centro?
CALLEN: Three hours south, right on the border.
GRANGER: Spears is our priority. I don't want him coming back to try this again with another terrorist cell.
HETTY: Mr. Callen, interrogate the surviving terrorist and find our friend on the satellite phone. Ms. Summerskill, get your team down to El Centro. Watch that hotel.
PARIS: Yeah.
[She starts leaving the OPS]
HETTY: And, Ms. Summerskill, you're still a man down.
[Paris looks at Roy; he questions her with the eyes- she hesitates]
PARIS: Okay.
[He exchanges a look with Hetty and follows Paris out. Hetty stares at the door…♫]
-------------------- TO BE CONTINUED -----------------
