FADE IN:
INT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
(WOMAN SCREAMS ON T.V.)
LAURA ROWANS: Keep screaming, honey. That way the monster will never find you.
CUT TO:
INT. KITCHEN – NIGHT
(SFX: REFRIGERATOR DOOR OPENS)
(SFX: GLASS CRASHES TO THE FLOOR)
JEREMY: Boo!
(SFX: LAURA SCREAMING)
(LAURA RUNS FROM THE KITCHEN TO THE LIVING ROOM)
JEREMY: Shh! Shh! We don’t want to wake the neighbors now, do we? No rough stuff yet. This is gonna be good. Whoa. Hey! Easy now. Easy. Easy. Please don’t…!
(SFX: GUNSHOTS B.G.)
(SFX: JEREMY COUGHS)
(CUT TO BLACK)
(THEME MUSIC UP OVER OPENING TITLE/ SCENES/ CREDITS AND OUT)
MUSIC IN:
EXT. BASE HOUSING STREET – DAY
“FORCED ENTRY”
GIBBS: Break out the gear. I’ll coordinate with the MPs. You drink that, DiNozzo, you’re dead.
TONY: Just my luck. One more hour and we’d have been off duty.
KATE: Got big plans today, Tony?
TONY: Well, it is Saturday, Kate. What do you think?
KATE: Oh, you have a date with a girl who can’t spell her last name? First name?
TONY: Oh, I… no, I was supposed to volunteer at the Eighth Street soup kitchen today.
KATE: You help feed the homeless?
TONY: Don’t be so surprised.
KATE: Sorry, I just never pictured you as the volunteer type.
TONY: Yeah? There’s a lot about me you don’t know, Kate.
KATE: You’re right. I’m actually impressed for once.
TONY: Coffee, Probie? It looks like you can use it.
MCGEE: Oh, thanks, Tony.
TONY: Don’t mention it.
MCGEE: You know, I think he’s finally starting to warm up to me. He even invited me to a party this afternoon.
KATE: Good -- Where?
MCGEE: It’s a soup kitchen in D.C. A bunch of Playboy centerfolds are hosting a fundraiser there.
CUT TO:
INT. LIVING ROOM – DAY
HEGARTY: Seems pretty open and shut. Perp broke in and tried to rape her. She shot him. Guy’s in critical conditional at the base hospital. I have a Marine standing guard.
GIBBS: You ID him yet, Sergeant?
HEGARTY: No, and he’s not exactly in talking shape either, Sir.
TONY: With this much blood loss, guy’s lucky to be alive.
GIBBS: Where’s Mrs. Rowans?
HEGARTY: With the neighbor next door.
GIBBS: I’ll need a statement.
HEGARTY: (INTO RADIO) This is Sergeant Hegarty. Bring Mrs. Rowans home. I’ll meet you out front.
GIBBS: Where is the weapon?
HEGARTY: It’s over here on the other side of the couch.
GIBBS: Did you touch it?
HEGARTY: Hell no, Sir. I did get the serial number though. It’s registered with the Provost Marshal under her husband’s name, Major David Rowans. He’s deployed in Iraq. Been gone for over five months.
KATE: We checked the exterior of the house, Gibbs. No sign of a forced entry.
HEGARTY: They tend to leave their doors unlocked.
KATE: “They”, Sergeant?
HEGARTY: Well, this is a military base, Ma'am. The women expect a certain level of security in their own homes. I suspect that’ll change after today.
GIBBS: Kate, DiNozzo, I want you to head over to the base hospital. I want this dirtbag’s personal effects and his prints.
KATE: Yeah.
GIBBS: You enjoying that coffee, McGee?
MCGEE: Uh… yeah?
GIBBS: It’s not too hot?
MCGEE: (LONG BEAT) It’s your coffee. I’m sorry, boss. I’ll get you another one. (TO TONY) Thanks.
KATE: Maybe next time you should remember Rule Twenty-three.
TONY: Is that the one about not marrying a woman who eats more than you do?
HEGARTY: Never mess with a Marine’s coffee if you want to live, Agent DiNozzo.
TONY: That’s right. Dead man walking.
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. KITCHEN – DAY
(SFX: EMAIL CHIME)
LAURA ROWANS: (V.O.) Let me guess. You take it black, Agent Gibbs. Marines always do. (ON CAMERA) What about you, Agent McGee? Cream and sugar?
MCGEE: Uh… you know, I still have to take some photos outside so maybe later. But thank you.
LAURA ROWANS: Is he old enough to be an NCIS Agent?
GIBBS: I ask myself that everyday. Thanks.
LAURA ROWANS: Oh, sorry. This place is such a mess. I wasn’t expecting any company. Am I in trouble, Agent Gibbs?
GIBBS: You do what you had to do, Mrs. Rowans.
LAURA ROWANS: Please, call me Laura.
GIBBS: I just have a few questions I need to ask you, Laura.
LAURA ROWANS: Is he going to die?
GIBBS: Maybe.
LAURA ROWANS: I just wanted him to go away. I didn’t want to kill him.
GIBBS: Did you know him?
LAURA ROWANS: I never saw him before in my life.
GIBBS: Any idea how he got in?
LAURA ROWANS: I usually leave the back door unlocked when I’m downstairs. My… husband doesn’t like me to smoke inside the house.
GIBBS: Is he the one who taught you how to shoot?
LAURA ROWANS: Yeah.
GIBBS: He’s a smart guy. How long have you two been married?
LAURA ROWANS: Civilian time? Four years. Marine time is more like two. He’s been away a lot.
GIBBS: It must get lonely.
LAURA ROWANS: Um… we don’t have kids so I don’t really fit in with the wives on base. I manage I guess.
GIBBS: You have a place to stay tonight?
LAURA ROWANS: My mom lives in Maryland. Is it okay if I go there?
GIBBS: Mm-hmm. Just make sure we have her number. If you uh… if you think of anything or if you want to talk, you can give me a call or you could e-mail me. Night or day.
CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR – DAY
KATE: I hate hospitals.
TONY: Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’s already dead.
KATE: Hi. I’m Special Agent Todd.
TONY: Tony DiNozzo, NCIS. This is Special Agent Todd. I’d love to ask you a few questions, say over lunch, Lieutenant…?
KIM: Ah Kim. And this is my engagement ring, Agent DiNozzo. I brought my lunch. How can I help you?
TONY: What can you tell us about the gunshot victim brought in last night?
KIM: I already told the MPs everything I know.
KATE: We’re not MPs. What kind of shape is he in?
KIM: Mmm… stable for the moment.
KATE: Well, we’ll need to talk to him.
KIM: You’ll have to come back tomorrow. He’s in ICU.
KATE: He might be dead tomorrow and we need answers now, Lieutenant.
KIM: He’s not conscious and he won’t be until tomorrow, Agent Todd.
TONY: What about his personal effects?
KIM: Right here. We had to cut off most of his clothing.
KATE: We’ll need to get his prints before we go.
KIM: That will also have to wait until…
KATE: Tomorrow? Right. Lieutenant, this man tried to rape someone. So I…
TONY: (OVERLAP) We’ll come back. Agent Todd, make sure the M.P. guarding him doesn’t screw up the DD-nine-three-two-A-six form the way he did last time. He does and it’s your ass. We clear?
KATE: Crystal.
TONY: Crystal… what?
KATE: Sir.
TONY: Better. Now get moving, I don’t have all day.
KIM: Your M.P.’s outside Room one-oh-seven. (KATE WALKS O.S.)
TONY: So wait. So what were you saying before about not being married? Or you’re almost married, thinking about it, on a fence.
CUT TO:
EXT. ROWANS RESIDENCE – DAY
MCGEE: Every road with access into Quantico is blocked by armed gate guards. There’s Marines everywhere. So why would a rapist choose a victim here?
HEGARTY: Maybe he’s got a death wish, Agent McGee.
MCGEE: There’s easier ways to die. It doesn’t make sense.
HEGARTY: You about done here, Sir?
GIBBS: Yeah. How about it, Sergeant? Just one thing. How’d that dirtbag get on base?
HEGARTY: I’ve been asking myself that same question, Agent Gibbs.
GIBBS: I want you and your Marines to check every car within a five mile radius of Laura Rowans’ house.
HEGARTY: For what specifically?
GIBBS: Make sure their military decals are current and they match up with the plates on the car.
HEGARTY: You got it.
GIBBS: Whoa. Any cars don’t check out, you call me, okay?
BOY TWO: (V.O.) Hey man, throw it!
(GIBBS THROWS THE FOOTBALL)
BOY ONE: Whoa!
BOY TWO: Oh yeah!
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – DAY
(VOICE OVER P.A. B.G.)
(ACTION CONTINUES:
KATE TAKES FINGERPRINTS AND PHOTOS)
JEREMY: It was… was a game. Laura invited me over… I thought she loved me.
(CUT TO BLACK)
FADE IN:
INT. SQUAD ROOM – DAY
KATE: According to our rapist, he was invited over by Laura Rowans.
TONY: Oh! What was that little tip that I picked up as a cop in Baltimore? Right. Oh yeah, rapists are liars, Kate.
MCGEE: I don’t think we should rule out anything, Tony.
TONY: Oh, really? Do you now, Probie?
MCGEE: All we have is Mrs. Rowans’ word for what happened last night.
TONY: So do you want to drag her in here and accuse her of attempted murder, McGee?
MCGEE: No, I didn’t say that.
TONY: No, let’s do it. It’s not like she hasn’t been through enough crap already.
MCGEE: Well, you would know, you’re the master at giving it.
TONY: Watch your lip, Probie.
KATE: Hey!
TONY: Your quivering lip!
KATE: (SHOUTS) Hey! God, I swear the two of you are worse than my brothers, and they’re practically psychotic. We have to I.D. this guy. If we find a connection between the two of them, we bring Laura Rowans in for questioning. Agreed?
GIBBS: His name’s Jeremy Davison. Sergeant Hegarty found his car parked outside the Quantico rear gate. Keys, wallet, I.D. all inside. Run his phone records, see if he ever communicated with Mrs. Rowans.
TONY: I am on it.
GIBBS: McGee.
MCGEE: Yeah, boss?
GIBBS: Get me a search warrant for that address.
MCGEE: On it.
GIBBS: Hey Kate. Your brothers are really like that?
KATE: Sadly, yes.
GIBBS: Huh. That explains a lot.
CUT TO:
INT. LAB – DAY
ABBY: Jeremy Davison has no criminal record, Gibbs. He’s a civilian, no ties to the military, his prints don’t match any open case files. The boy doesn’t even have a speeding ticket. And we’re talking cleaner than clean, whiter than white. If you put him in a line up with snow, snow is going to jail.
GIBBS: Or it just means he’s never been caught.
ABBY: Or it just means he was never caught.
GIBBS: I want you to run the DNA of his blood. Cross reference it with every database you can think of.
ABBY: Well, considering there’s no centralized DNA depository, that could take months and months and months and months and months.
GIBBS: Uh-huh. Then you’d better get started.
ABBY: You think he did it?
GIBBS: Kind of depends on your definition of “it.”
ABBY: Spoken like a true politician, Gibbs!
CUT TO:
INT. SQUAD ROOM – DAY
TONY: Still going through his phone records, boss. Nothing so far to or from Quantico.
GIBBS: Home and office?
TONY: And cell.
MCGEE: I’ve got the warrant for his apartment. It’s in Alexandria.
GIBBS: Keys.
TONY: I’ll get the sedan.
GIBBS: No, you stay with the phone records. McGee, I want everything there is on Davison by the time I get back. Kate! Come on. You’re with me. Let’s go.
CUT TO:
INT. APARTMENT – DAY
(DOOR OPENS)
GIBBS: Clear.
(DOOR CLOSES)
GIBBS: Clear.
KATE: This is sort of how I always pictured Tony’s place.
GIBBS: Yeah, except DiNozzo has better furniture. All right, let’s find out who this guy really is.
KATE: You might want to come take a look at this, Gibbs. She had to have sent him that.
GIBBS: Yeah. How do you figure that?
KATE: Well, let’s just say theoretically I had a picture like this. I… I wouldn’t be handing them out on a street corner.
GIBBS: Yeah, well, okay, since we’re being theoretical what about if the guy happens to work in a photo shop?
KATE: Here’s an email from Laura Rowans to Davison. (READS) The thought of us possibly meeting nice guys is both exhilarating and terrifying. On one hand I can imagine you throwing me down… whoa!
GIBBS: Whoa what?
KATE: Whoa. It’s pretty specific. Gibbs?
GIBBS: Yeah.
KATE: Uh… by specific I mean explicit… in the truest most pornographic sense of the word.
GIBBS: Yeah, I’d say that’s specific, Kate. Bag it.
(DOOR OPENS/ CLOSES)
MICHELLE: Jeremy?
GIBBS: Not here.
MICHELLE: Who the hell are you?!
GIBBS: Special Agent Gibbs and Todd. NCIS.
MICHELLE: NCI what?
KATE: We’re Federal agents executing a search warrant. Who are you?
MICHELLE: Michelle. Michelle Davison. Jeremy’s sister. Is he okay?
GIBBS: Your brother was shot last night breaking into a home on a Marine base. He’s in critical condition.
MICHELLE: Oh, my god! I knew it. I knew something like this was going to happen.
KATE: Something like what?
MICHELLE: He went on a date last night with some girl he met on the internet.
CUT TO:
INT. NCIS LAB – DAY
ABBY: Ooh, is it my birthday?
GIBBS: Yeah. You see a bow on top?
KATE: We think Laura Rowans was having an online affair with Jeremy Davison.
ABBY: Really. I could have told her internet romances never work out.
TONY: They all end in attempted murder, Abby?
ABBY: Only the really hot ones, Tony.
GIBBS: I want proof it’s true before I drag Mrs. Rowans in here.
ABBY: Is this Davison’s computer?
GIBBS: Yep.
ABBY: Well, if I’m going to find something conclusive, Gibbs, I’m going to have to have the lady’s as well.
GIBBS: McGee’s on his way with it.
ABBY: Then we’re in business. When do you need it by?
GIBBS: Now.
TONY: Wow, Laura Rowan wrote these?
KATE: Allegedly.
TONY: Okay, Abby, I’ll of course need copies of all of them, all right? What?
ABBY: Hey, McGee. You ready to plunge into the seedy side of the internet with me?
MCGEE: I thought we agreed never to discuss that at work.
ABBY: McGee, I’m talking about the case.
MCGEE: Right, the case.
KATE: Okay, we’ll leave the two of you alone. But Gibbs, won’t so I’d get busy. DiNozzo!
TONY: I’m investigating here. These letters speak to the suspect’s state of mind.
KATE: I’ve read them, and they’re all pretty much the same.
TONY: Well, I’ve only read two and if you think they’re all the same, then we definitely need to talk, Kate.
KATE: Well, twelve years of Catholic school says that ain’t ever gonna happen.
TONY: Do you still have the pleated skirt?
ABBY: Get that.
MCGEE: Yeah. So uh… what’s going on? Gibbs just said to bring Laura Rowans’ computer. He didn’t say why.
ABBY: We’ve got a cyber sex attempted murder kill thing going on, McGee.
MCGEE: Really?
ABBY: Cool, huh?
MCGEE: Yeah.
CUT TO:
INT. SQUAD ROOM – NIGHT
TONY: Come on.
KATE: Let’s say Laura did invite Davison back to her house.
TONY: Thank you.
KATE: What would she gain from shooting him?
TONY: Maybe he was blackmailing her.
GIBBS: DiNozzo, he was lying on the floor with two bullets in him. She could have finished him off. Instead she dialed nine one one.
KATE: Did she get cold feet?
GIBBS: Or Davison decided to surprise her. Take it to the next step from fantasy to reality.
KATE: Well, if they only communicated online, there is a possibility that she didn’t even know what he looked like.
TONY: So you’re saying the whole thing might have been an accident?
GIBBS: I don’t believe in accidents.
KATE: Or Davison could be your garden variety psycho. He latched on to Laura and he didn’t want to let go.
GIBBS: We’re missing something here.
MCGEE: And I think we found it, Boss.
ABBY: Laura Rowans and Jeremy Davison were definitely in contact.
MCGEE: We traced her email exchange back to the day they met online.
ABBY: Four months ago on a little website called The Scarlet Secret. This is their homepage.
TONY: I’ve got to get one of these.
KATE: DiNozzo.
TONY: I’m talking about the plasma screen, Kate.
GIBBS: What is this?
ABBY: Well, you know Friendster? Real people make webpages with personal profiles to connect to their friends online.
MCGEE: And their friends lead to their friends and so on and so on.
ABBY: Um… okay. Do you know what friends are, right?
GIBBS: Abby.
ABBY: Well, it’s kind of like that only it’s explicitly for sex. Male female preferences. Fetishes. And you follow the chain of pages and it should lead to somewhat anonymous cybersex or a real face-to-face meeting if you want.
KATE: You’re a member?
MCGEE: No. No, she just created the page to look online.
ABBY: I did a little trial and error with Laura Rowans’ screen name, Home Alone three two five, and Jeremy Davison’s Nice Guy six five three. Care to guess which fetish they have in common, Kate?
KATE: Mm. No, no. I’m going to hell just listening to all of this.
ABBY: Rape fantasies.
CUT TO:
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - DAY
KATE: What kind of a woman is into rape fantasies?
MCGEE: Actually, it’s not that uncommon, Kate.
KATE: Actually, it’s sick and disturbing, McGee.
TONY: I dated a girl once who used to wear my police uniform and make me call her Detective Sipowicz.
KATE: What the hell’s wrong with you?
TONY: It wasn’t my idea. Well, the police uniform part was.
MCGEE: So how long’s Gibbs going to make her sit there?
TONY: It’s called brewing, Probie. She’s scared, nervous, imagining the worst. You’ve got to give it time to percolate.
(DOOR CLOSES)
CUT TO:
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY
LAURA: What’s going on, Agent Gibbs? I thought you said I wasn’t in any trouble.
GIBBS: What makes you think you’re in trouble?
LAURA: I’m in an interrogation room. Did the man die?
GIBBS: You mean Jeremy Davison?
LAURA: Is that his name?
GIBBS: One of them. He’s still alive. Though you might know him better as Nice Guy six five three.
LAURA: I have no idea what you’re talking about.
GIBBS: No?
LAURA: Where did you get that?
GIBBS: Off of Jeremy Davison’s computer.
LAURA: I… I don’t understand. How?
GIBBS: You sent it to him.
LAURA: No, I sent this to my husband in Iraq. I told you I never saw that man before in my life! How could I send this to him!?
GIBBS: You spend a lot of time on the internet…
CUT TO:
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - DAY
GIBBS: … Mrs. Rowans.
LAURA: Why? What does that have to do with anything?
GIBBS: It’s an observation. Not a question.
CUT TO:
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY
LAURA: Oh, my god. Do you think I wrote this?
GIBBS: Tell me about The Scarlet Secret website.
LAURA: Uh…
GIBBS: Where discriminating adults go to play. Ring any bells?
LAURA: It’s not like that.
GIBBS: You and Jeremy decided to have a little cyber fling. One of you decided to take it to the next level. I want to know which one.
LAURA: I never cheated on my husband. I wouldn’t. I… it was just supposed to be a game.
GIBBS: Does this feel like a game, Mrs. Rowans?
LAURA: Um…I uh… I… fooled around a couple times online, but I never gave anyone my name or my picture. It was harmless! It was just a fantasy!
CUT TO:
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - DAY
GIBBS: This is sounding like attempted murder!
(DOOR OPENS)
ABBY: I have to talk to Gibbs.
MCGEE: Uh… you’re going to have to wait because the last time I disturbed him in interrogation was the last time.
ABBY: No, McGee, this is an emergency. We screwed up big time.
CUT TO:
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY
GIBBS: This is a copy of the email you sent Jeremy inviting him to your house Friday night.
LAURA: I did not write that. I never talked to anyone named Mister Nice Guy. Agent Gibbs, I swear to you!
GIBBS: We have your computer. You two were exchanging emails for months.
KATE: (V.O./SPEAKER) Uh… Agent Gibbs, we need a word with you.
CUT TO:
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - DAY
GIBBS: What?!
KATE: Abby has something to tell you.
ABBY: I was digging deeper into Laura Rowans’ clusters, mostly the slack space. And the log file alignment – it was off. Not much, but enough. So I imaged the sectors and I found trace elements of vary --
GIBBS: English!
ABBY: She’s telling the truth, Gibbs. She didn’t write those emails.
GIBBS: Who did?
ABBY: I don’t know. I’m sorry.
(MUSIC OUT)
FADE IN:
INT. SQUAD ROOM – DAY
TONY: So she was set up?
MCGEE: It’s more like Jeremy Davison was set up. His computer wasn’t tampered with. He thought he was communicating with Mrs. Rowans the entire time.
KATE: And the reason for luring him onto a Marine base to rape a Marine wife?
TONY: Well, closest thing to a death sentence I can think of.
GIBBS: Abby’s lab now.
CUT TO:
INT. LAB – DAY
ABBY: No dice, Gibbs. The hacker left no back trace on Laura Rowans’ machine.
MCGEE: But we can tell when he created the email trail. The files overwritten on her computer show that it happened right around the time she shot Jeremy Davison.
ABBY: Like I said this guy’s good.
GIBBS: The guy’s a dirtbag, Abby. I want him.
MCGEE: Well, unfortunately we can’t find him from here. We need access to The Scarlet Secret web servers.
ABBY: And a warrant will take months. They have a rep for legally fighting any attempt to breach the privacy of their members.
TONY: Can’t you hack them?
ABBY: It won’t work, Tony. We need core-level access with full admin privileges to track this guy.
MCGEE: Which means we’d have to be on the inside to do it.
GIBBS: Find another way.
KATE: Abby, can you pull up the home page for The Scarlet Secret?
ABBY: Really?
KATE: I thought I saw something that we could use. Okay, at the bottom here. Can you click on employment opportunities?
MCGEE: Can we get a job there?
KATE: Abby, click computer programming.
MCGEE: (READS) We’re looking for a computer programmer with experience in network protocols, IDS, firewalls, and ultra high speed network capabilities. Excellent communication skills, a professional attitude, and the desire to be challenged everyday is required. Bachelor degree’s preferred. Must be able to start immediately.
ABBY: Way to go, Kate.
MCGEE: Oh, finally I get to do some undercover work.
TONY: Yeah, that’s not going to work. Probie’s got cop written all over his face. I, on the other hand...
KATE: He does have experience with cyber sex.
GIBBS: Yeah, is that true, DiNozzo?
TONY: I think what Kate meant to say was that I met a very nice girl online once.
GIBBS: Yeah? What was her name?
TONY: Her name’s not that important. Hotjuggs twenty four, but I think she meant it as a metaphor.
MCGEE: Boss, Tony could never pass as a computer programmer.
KATE: So McGee goes.
GIBBS: No. Not McGee.
CUT TO:
INT. THE SCARLET SECRET OFFICE
VOICE: You make me really horny, baby.
(MUSIC OVER ACTION/CAMERA PANS AROUND THE OFFICE)
DEVON KANE: Well, you’re certainly qualified and from the look of things, you’ll fit right in around here.
CUT TO:
INT. MTAC ROOM – DAY
DEVON KANE: (ON MONITOR) So uh... what do you think, Ms. Gibbs?
ABBY: (ON MONITOR) Um… I…say…
CUT TO:
INT. THE SCARLET SECRET – DAY
ABBY: When can I start, Mister Kane?
DEVON KANE: You can call me Devon.
ABBY: Right, Devon.
OLDER WOMAN: (INTO PHONE) What am I wearing? How do you like fishnets, baby?
DEVON KANE: You can start today. I have a question for you, though. Have you thought about modeling yourself?
ABBY: Oh, I prefer the computer programming side of the business, Devon.
CUT TO:
INT. MTAC ROOM – DAY
DEVON KANE: (ON MONITOR) Okay, well uh… should you change your mind we do offer naked tech support to a very select clientele. And uh…
CUT TO:
INT. THE SCARLET SECRET – DAY
DEVON KANE: … The pay’s double.
ABBY: That’s very thoughtful. But um… I’ll pass.
DEVON KANE: Okay, great. Well, here’s your work station. And um… I think that’s it so… welcome to Scarlet Secrets.
CUT TO:
INT. MTAC ROOM – DAY
GIBBS: Good work, Abby. (TO TONY) Go. Get Jeremy Davison’s statement. I want the name of anybody he’s had an altercation with in the past five years.
TONY AND KATE: (IN UNISON) You got it.
KATE: (ON MONITOR) I’m in, Gibbs. Is McGee there?
MCGEE: Here, Abs.
KATE: (ON MONITOR) Hi, McGee.
MCGEE: Hey. Okay, open port six one eight on their firewall and I’ll join you.
KATE: (ON MONITOR) Done and done.
MCGEE: Connected.
GIBBS: How long is this going to take?
MCGEE: Uh… there’s a number of different variables. Code complexity, accuracy of the logs, the software…
GIBBS: You’ve got one hour.
MCGEE: Or one hour.
CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – DAY
JEREMY: S-So if it wasn’t Laura I was talking to, w-who was it?
KATE: Well that’s what we’re trying to find out, Mister Davison.
JEREMY: No, I don’t believe it. We talked about everything and it wasn’t just about sex. S-She loved me. I-It can’t be.
TONY: At this point we’re not even sure if she is a she.
JEREMY: We exchanged hundreds of emails. Why would someone do that?
KATE: You tell us.
TONY: Is anyone holding a grudge against you, Mister Davison?
KATE: Anyone who might know their way around a computer?
JEREMY: No, I don’t socialize much offline. I kind of s-stutter when I’m nervous.
KATE: What about online?
JEREMY: I said no! Maybe… maybe she didn’t recognize me. Maybe it was just a mistake. I-If I talk to her, we…
TONY: She’s never even heard of you, Jeremy. Whoever you were talking to wasn’t Laura Rowans.
JEREMY: (CRIES) So none of it was real? The whole thing was just some s-s-sick joke?
MICHELLE: Jeremy! Oh, God! Are you okay? Is this really necessary, Agent Todd?
KATE: Not anymore. If you remember anything, Jeremy, anything that you think might help us… please call me.
MICHELLE: It’s going to be all right now, okay? It’s going to be all right.
CUT TO:
INT. THE SCARLET SECRET – DAY
ABBY: I got him. It’s custom code. It matches the stuff on Laura’s computer.
CUT TO:
INT. MTAC – DAY
ABBY: (ON MONITOR) He’s got hooks all over the system.
MCGEE: I’m on it. Okay, he’s using a router out of Fairfax. Tracing it back now.
CUT TO:
INT. THE SCARLET SECRET
ABBY: Interesting. He left his name in an encrypted file. Zed Death Six. The guy’s arrogant. He likes to sign his work. (TO GEEK) What? I talk to myself. You got a problem with that?
CUT TO:
INT. MTAC – DAY
(DOOR OPENS)
MCGEE: Got him! Name’s Victor Grotinski. He’s in Woodbridge, Virginia, off Davis Ford Road. Fifteen miles from Quantico.
GIBBS: That’s a good job, McGee. You get Abby back here. Coffee’s for you. DiNozzo!
TONY: Yeah, boss.
GIBBS: Meet me at this address.
CUT TO:
EXT. BUILDING – DAY
(SFX: CAR BRAKES TO A STOP)
(MUSIC OVER ACTION/ ALL MOVE TOWARD THE BUILDING)
CUT TO:
INT. BUILDING – DAY
(SFX: DOOR BURSTS OPEN)
(MUSIC OVER ACTION/GIBBS/ KATE AND TONY MOVE DOWN THE STAIRS TO THE BASEMENT)
GIBBS: (SHOUTS) NCIS! Federal agents!
TONY: We have a warrant for your address!
GIBBS: (SHOUTS) Hands in the air!
TONY: Now!
(TONY/ KATE AND GIBBS MOVE TOWARD THE BODY)
TONY: That is… that is just nasty.
KATE: Oh my god.
(CUT TO BLACK)
FADE IN:
EXT. BUILDING – DAY
(MUSIC OVER ACTION/ JIMMY WHEELS THE GURNEY FROM THE TRUCK)
CUT TO:
INT. BASEMENT – DAY
GIBBS: You see anything interesting, Duck?
DUCKY: Well, they say the eyes are the window to the soul.
GIBBS: Yeah? Did they say anything about when he died?
DUCKY: Perhaps. Have you found them yet?
GIBBS: Nope.
DUCKY: They took the optic nerve. Time of death… about eighteen hours ago.
TONY: What do you think this is?
MCGEE: He was slaving old systems together. He was jury-rigging his own super computer.
TONY: I’m talking about this.
MCGEE: Some kind of solvent?
TONY: I don’t think so.
KATE: Oh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.
TONY: You know what this is?
(GURNEY BANGS DOWN THE STAIRCASE)
TONY: Hey!
JIMMY: Hi, guys.
KATE: No, I don’t. But considering there’s no bathroom in this apartment…
TONY: Uh… Probie, bag that. And why don’t you check out those suspicious looking containers while you’re at it.
MCGEE: Oh. I think I’ll throw up now.
GIBBS: DiNozzo, find out what this operates.
TONY: You got it.
GIBBS: Kate, what do you think about Oedipus here?
KATE: There’s no obvious defensive wounds. Knew his attacker.
GIBBS: Or he was surprised. Why take his eyes?
KATE: Some kind of a message.
DUCKY: Or a warning, Kate. Several South American tribes were known to ritualistically pluck the eyes of their enemies to discourage them being followed. Of course, they were cannibals so they did--
GIBBS: I don’t think we’re dealing with cannibals here, Duck.
DUCKY: No, I should think not. We’re not this far north.
TONY: Kate, could you come here for a second? I need your help with something.
(PASSAGE OF TIME)
KATE: I had to wear a skirt today.
TONY: Did you say something?
KATE: You know, you realize what would happen if I dropped this knife, Tony?
TONY: Yeah. I’m still deciding whether it’s worth it or not.
KATE: Now why would somebody hide a camcorder in a vent?
TONY: You’re kidding, right? Oh. You know, when this is over we really need to talk, Kate. You scare me.
(SFX: MOANING ON TAPE)
KATE: Eww!
TONY: Oh. Eww!
CUT TO:
INT. NCIS LAB – DAY
ABBY: Well, he certainly isn’t going to win any awards for cinematography. And it didn’t help that he was shooting in almost no light. Okay, here’s where it gets interesting. (SFX: MOANING ON TAPE)
(SFX: MOANING ON TAPE B.G.)
ABBY: She’s a black widow. She killed him right after… that special moment.
GIBBS: Any close-ups of her face?
ABBY: One glimpse, but I mean it’s a glimpse. It’s digital, so I might be able to pull up more information. I’ll do my best to pull up more information. I will pull out more information!
GIBBS: Hey McGee.
MCGEE: Yeah?
GIBBS: I need to know who hired Grotinski to create the e-mail trail between Rowans and Davison.
MCGEE: Well there’s about a hundred and fifty gigabytes data on several hard drives.
GIBBS: Only a hundred and fifty? Hell, that shouldn’t take much time at all.
(GIBBS WALKS O.S.)
MCGEE: He has no idea what a gigabyte is, does he, Abby?
ABBY: I don’t even think he knows what a hard drive is, McGee.
CUT TO:
INT. SQUAD ROOM – DAY
TONY: I mean, the policy they have at that beach isn’t strictly nudist.
WOMAN: Mm-hmm.
TONY: It’s more of like a… it’s optional.
WOMAN: Uh-huh. Yeah.
TONY: Ooh! You changed.
KATE: We’re dealing with a sociopath here, Tony.
TONY: Yeah, the missing eye part would be the dead giveaway, Kate.
KATE: Who likes to manipulate people. The question is why Jeremy Davison and Laura Rowans?
TONY: Two lonely people pouring their hearts out into cyberspace?
KATE: Instead they find a psycho lurking on the Scarlet Secret website?
TONY: Works for me.
GIBBS: Not me. We’re being played.
KATE: By who, Gibbs?
GIBBS: Kate, Grotinski was murdered by the woman on the tape.
KATE: She hired him?
GIBBS: I don’t know yet. (SFX: DIAL TONE)
TONY: We should bring Laura Rowans back for questioning.
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Yeah Gibbs. On our way. (TO ALL) Let’s go! Ducky’s got something.
CUT TO:
INT. NCIS AUTOPSY ROOM – DAY
DUCKY: To Abby please, Mister Palmer.
JIMMY: Sure thing, Doctor. Uh… what is it exactly?
DUCKY: Our young man was killed during coitus. That may be our black widow’s DNA. You know, the Romans considered dying during the act of love to be a great honor, Mister Grotinski.
GIBBS: Yeah? What would they think about videotaping it?
DUCKY: From some of the murals I’ve seen in Pompeii, I think they’d rather enjoy it.
TONY: That’s an Italian thing, Ducky. We’re passionate people, it runs in our… blood.
KATE: The only thing running in your blood, Tony, is cholesterol. And possibly Chlamydia.
TONY: It’s curable.
GIBBS: What have we got, Duck?
DUCKY: Well, I sent some fluids up to Abby. The DNA may be our killer’s. But what really interests me is the manner in which his throat was cut. The knife was inserted into the side of the neck and then ripped forward, severing both the arteries and the windpipe. Very professional.
GIBBS: Yeah, and very familiar. Thanks, Duck. You track down Laura Rowans. Tell her we need to talk.
TONY: Duck?
DUCKY: Oh, it’s the technique Marines are taught to kill enemy sentries.
KATE: Her hubby taught her how to do a lot more than just shoot.
CUT TO:
INT. NCIS LAB – DAY
ABBY: I’m picking up some highlights on the baseball cap.
GIBBS: No, that’s not good enough. I need a face. How much longer, Abby?
ABBY: Maybe an hour to filter.
GIBBS: What about the fluid Ducky sent up?
ABBY: I’ve isolated several female cells. I’m sequencing the DNA now. Like ten hours.
MCGEE: You think that’s Laura Rowans, Boss?
GIBBS: Well, considering I’ve seen better pictures of a UFO, you tell me, McGee.
CUT TO:
INT. SQUAD ROOM – DAY
KATE: (INTO PHONE) Check her home, if she’s there, hold her, Sergeant.
TONY: I talked to Laura’s mother, Boss. She claims she hasn’t seen her since yesterday and she’s not answering her cell.
KATE: She’s not answering at home either. I have Sergeant Hegarty heading over there.
GIBBS: You try the hospital?
TONY: No, but if she’s at the eyeball plucking stage?
KATE: She might take another shot at Jeremy.
GIBBS: We’re going to Quantico. Let’s roll.
(SFX: PHONE RINGS)
CUT TO:
INT. NURSES’ STATION – DAY
(BEGIN TELEPHONE INTERCUTS)
KIM: (INTO PHONE) I.C.U., Lieutenant Kim.
TONY: (V.O./FILTERED) Hi, it’s Tony.
KIM: (INTO PHONE) Tony! I was hoping you’d call.
TONY: (V.O./FILTERED) What’s Jeremy Davison’s condition?
KIM: (INTO PHONE) Uh… resting comfortably. What’s up?
(SCENE CUT)
TONY: (INTO PHONE) All right. If anyone comes to visit him, tell them he’s been transferred to another hospital.
(SCENE CUT)
KIM: (INTO PHONE) Is there a problem, Tony?
TONY: (V.O./FILTERED) No. No problem, Pam.
(SCENE CUT)
TONY: (INTO PHONE) We’ll be on base in about fifteen minutes. Make that ten.
KATE: Are you going to tell us what’s up, Gibbs? (SFX: CELL PHONE RINGS)
GIBBS: My gut.
KATE: (INTO PHONE) Agent Todd.
CUT TO:
INT. KITCHEN – DAY
HEGARTY: (INTO PHONE) We’ve got a serious situation here, Ma'am.
CUT TO:
INT. CAR – DAY
HEGARTY: (V.O./FILTERED) Hands in the air!
CUT TO:
INT. KITCHEN – DAY
HEGARTY: Now! (LAURA DROPS THE BAG OF GROCERIES)
CUT TO:
INT. CAR – MOVING
KATE: Sergeant Hegarty has Laura Rowans in custody, Gibbs, and he also found Grotinski’s eyes in her kitchen.
TONY: She hired him to make it look like a third party set them both up?
KATE: Yep, it’s not a bad plan, it almost worked.
GIBBS: Almost.
CUT TO:
INT. NCIS LAB – DAY
MCGEE: Mrs. Rowans didn’t seem like the murdering type to me.
ABBY: The smart ones never do.
(SFX: RAPID BEEP TONES)
MCGEE: I thought you told Gibbs the DNA would take ten hours.
ABBY: I did. This doesn’t make any sense. I didn’t even send it… oh, my god!
CUT TO:
INT. NURSES’ STATION – DAY
KIM: You have ten minutes, and make sure all your cell phones are off.
(KIM WALKS O.S./ DOOR CLOSES)
GIBBS: You’ll be moved to a civilian hospital tomorrow, Mister Davison.
MICHELLE: Finally. Any idea why this woman fixated on my brother?
GIBBS: I was hoping he could tell me.
MICHELLE: Jeremy?
JEREMY: She wasn’t happy but she wouldn’t leave her husband. I was going to tell him about us.
TONY: Well, you’re lucky. We have her on tape slashing another guys’ throat.
JEREMY: You… you do? (SFX: BEEP TONES ACCELERATE)
KATE: The picture’s damaged, but once our lab cleans it up…
TONY: We should be able to positively I.D. her.
KATE: She won’t be bothering you again, Mister Davison.
JEREMY: I… I loved her.
GIBBS: Let’s go.
(GIBBS/ TONY AND KATE WALK O.S.)
(DOOR CLOSES)
CUT TO:
INT. LAB – DAY
ABBY: Come on. Answer! Answer! Answer! Pick up, damn it. Pick up! (SFX: PHONE RINGS B.G.)
MCGEE: If they’re at the hospital they probably have their phones turned off, Abby.
ABBY: We’re about to let a murderer go free!
CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – DAY
MICHELLE: We have to take off, baby.
CUT TO:
INT. NCIS LAB – DAY
ABBY: (INTO PHONE) I.C.U.! I need to speak to Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs now! It’s a matter of life and death!
CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR – DAY
(KIM RUSHES INTO THE ROOM)
(DOOR BURSTS OPENS)
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
EXT. HOSPITAL ENTRANCE – DAY
MICHELLE: Those first two Navy cops were dumb but their boss wasn’t. Did you see the way he was looking at me?
TONY: Hey! That sound harsh to you, Kate?
KATE: Very.
TONY: Go for it, honey.
KATE: My first round’s going through your right eye socket, lady.
(SFX: CELL PHONE RINGS)
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Yeah, Gibbs. (BEGIN TELEPHONE INTERCUTS)
(SCENE CUT)
ABBY: (INTO PHONE) Don’t you pick up your phone anymore! The DNA we ran on Jeremy Davison two days ago matches five open…
(SCENE CUT)
ABBY: (V.O./FILTERED) …Investigations. He’s a serial rapist and murderer.
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) We know.
(SCENE CUT)
ABBY: (INTO PHONE) And the woman that he’s with is his accomplice. It’s not his (BEAT) you know?
(SCENE CUT)
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) I got it covered, Abby. (END TELEPHONE INTERCUTS)
CUT TO:
INT. LAB – DAY
ABBY: They know. (BEAT) Did you know?
MCGEE: No.
ABBY: If I find out that you knew, I will kill you.
CUT TO:
INT. SQUAD ROOM – DAY
KATE: I can’t believe we almost let those two walk. And Davison wasn’t even their real names. Grotinski created those identities for them.
TONY: Yeah, it’s amazing what you can do with computers these days, Kate.
MCGEE: Sure is, Tony. Hey I’ve got a little something you might be interested in.
TONY: Who is this supposed to be?
MCGEE: I tracked down your cyber babe for you. Hotjuggs Twenty-four.
GIBBS: Yeah, she’s a real keeper, DiNozzo.
KATE: I wonder if he wears a sports bra?
(MUSIC UP OVER ENDING CREDITS AND OUT)
* * * * * * * *
Prepared by C.C. Printed in USA
Calvert Continuities Aired 12/07/04