FADE IN:
INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY
TONY: How much?
ZIVA: Don’t know.
TONY: Come on! Take a guess.
ZIVA: I don’t know.
TONY: Then we’re just going to have to settle this with facts. I am Googling “men’s jacket.” What would you say it was made of? It felt like butter.
ZIVA: Lambskin.
TONY: Who’s the designer?
ZIVA: Why do you assume I know?
TONY: Because….
ZIVA: Because? Because I’m a woman? Because I am Jewish?
TONY: Because you’re a great detective.
ZIVA: True. McGee flashed the label when he showed us his lining. Armani.
TONY: Anything else?
ZIVA: Lizard-embossed trim, a two-way zipper, and a chest pocket.
TONY: Found it! It’s from the Armani Two Thousand Seven Resort Collection. You can purchase it for…
ZIVA: Two thousand dollars. They say the clothes make the man.
TONY: Hmm. He’s not a man, he’s a McGee.
GIBBS: Either way, where is he?
TONY: Um… over there. Overdressed.
(SFX: SANDERS COUGHS)
MCGEE: Are you okay?
SANDERS: Yeah. I um… I just need to talk to Special Agent Gibbs. Hey, your jacket’s really soft.
MCGEE: Thanks.
ZIVA: Who is McGee escorting?
TONY: I don’t know. Never seen him before.
MCGEE: This is Special Agent Gibbs.
SANDERS: Lieutenant Sanders, Sir. I need you to investigate a murder.
GIBBS: Whose?
SANDERS: (BEAT) Mine.
(MUSIC UP AND OUT)
(THEME MUSIC UP OVER OPENING TITLE/SCENES/ CREDITS AND OUT)
FADE IN:
INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY
“DEAD MAN WALKING”
ZIVA: This is killing me. I feel like I know him.
TONY: Mossad?
ZIVA: Maybe.
TONY: Internet dating?
ZIVA: I will kill you eighteen different ways with this paper clip.
TONY: Ducky figure out what’s wrong with Lieutenant Sanders, Boss?
GIBBS: No, he’s still examining him. Thinks it could be radiation poisoning.
ZIVA: Do we know how he was exposed?
GIBBS: No. But he’s got a high-risk job as an inspector for the IAEA.
TONY: International Atomic Energy Agency. `
ZIVA: Wonder if he’s ever been to Israel? I feel like I know him from somewhere.
GIBBS: Dinozzo, check his travel.
TONY: Is this guy contagious, Boss?
GIBBS: Well, McGee better hope not.
CUT TO:
INT. BALLISTICS LAB
MCGEE: Underwear, too?
ABBY: Yes, McGee. I need everything.
MCGEE: Don’t you think that’s kind of overkill?
ABBY: Get over it, McGee. I’m a scientist. Remember? You said he coughed on you.
MCGEE: Yes.
ABBY: So I need to check all of your clothing for radiation. If you were exposed…
(DOOR OPENS)
MCGEE: Yeah, I feel exposed.
ABBY: Where’s your jacket?
MCGEE: Come on. You need to test that too?
ABBY: You said he grabbed your arm.
MCGEE: Do you promise not to stain it?
ABBY: I promise not to stain it.
CUT TO:
INT. AUTOPSY ROOM – DAY
SANDERS: The table’s cold.
DUCKY: None of my other patient’s ever complain.
SANDERS: Sorry. I thought it might have been nice for you to have someone to talk to for a change.
DUCKY: Oh, I always talk to my guests. The difference here is that you talk back.
SANDERS: Talk about what?
DUCKY: Let’s see, in your case, I’d talk about your runner’s physique, your well-toned calves, your impressive thighs. (CHUCKLES) It doesn’t sound quite so personal when you’re dead. Mister Palmer?
JIMMY: Yes, I will label these and get them over to radiobiology.
DUCKY: When did the nausea start?
SANDERS: Two days ago. Since I’ve been traveling, I blamed it on the local moqueca.
(SFX: DOORS SLIDE OPEN/ CLOSED)
DUCKY: Until your hair started falling out. Ah, Jethro! We have to wait for radiobiology to find out exactly with what we’re dealing.
GIBBS: Containment?
DUCKY: Minimal. Abby’s preliminary findings show that they’re alpha emissions which, unlike gamma-rays and X-rays, can be blocked by a simple layer of dead cells on the skin. Just avoid contact and exchange of fluids.
GIBBS: Is he fit to answer questions?
SANDERS: I’m right here. I can hear you.
DUCKY: I’m sorry. It’s force of habit.
GIBBS: You’re around uranium in your job. What makes you think this was murder and not accidental?
DUCKY: A radiation badge. It’s a thermoluminescent dosimeter.
SANDERS: I wore it to inspect the power plant in Brazil where we discovered violations. When I returned four days ago, the film from my badge was processed.
GIBBS: And the glow curve?
SANDERS: Detected no exposure. Said everything was fine.
GIBBS: Brazilians aware of your findings?
SANDERS: From my line of questioning, I’d say they knew they were busted. Brazil has a history of covert attempts to secure nuclear weaponry with Germany’s aid.
DUCKY: Yeah, it’s an unsavory partnership. It goes back to the fall of the Third Reich.
GIBBS: I’ll need access to your offices and your inspection team.
DUCKY: I told transport I want to move him to AFRRI. That’s the Armed Forces…
SANDERS: … Forces Radiobiology Research Institute. Although in my line of work, we call in something else.
DUCKY: What’s that?
SANDERS: The last exit.
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY
TONY: (V.O.) Okay, ready? Look away now. Look at me. Close your eyes. Now look back really fast! (ON CAMERA) Open them up! Anything?
ZIVA: No, still nothing.
TONY: Okay. Squat down. Squat down and close your eyes, and then jump up and look!
(SFX: ZIVA PUNCHES TONY)
TONY: Ow!
GIBBS: Ziva, you find out how you know the Lieutenant?
ZIVA: Not yet. He’s been to Israel twice in the last decade. We’ve never been in the same city.
TONY: He’s also been to Iran, Bulgaria, Pakistan, Kuwait, Croatia, Korea and Slovenia.
GIBBS: Guy gets around.
TONY: I left out Canada.
GIBBS: Ducky’s transferring him to AFRRI in Bethesda. Ziva, go with him.
ZIVA: Protection detail?
GIBBS: Not sure yet. Dinozzo.
TONY: On it. Tracing his phone calls, bank accounts, everyone he’s ever met in his entire life.
GIBBS: Leave that to McGee. You’re with me.
TONY: Uh, McGee’s not here.
GIBBS: Where the hell is McGee?
MCGEE: Abby is testing my clothes for radiation and it’s taking longer than we thought so…
GIBBS: Pick up where Dinozzo left off.
MCGEE: Got it, Boss.
TONY: If clothes make the man, what does that make McGee?
ZIVA: Male nurse?
TONY: No, Aqua Smurf.
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. GARAGE – DAY
DUCKY: I’ve emailed your records to the doctors at AFRRI. They’ll be running more tests. Try to conserve your energy. You’ll need it later. I don’t want to see you back on my cold table.
SANDERS: I appreciate your help, Doc.
DUCKY: Good luck.
(SFX: VAN DOORS CLOSE)
(SFX: VAN DOORS OPEN)
SANDERS: Did you forget something, Doc?
ZIVA: Special Agent Gibbs asked me to accompany you. I’m Officer David.
SANDERS: I’d shake your hand, but…
ZIVA: Um, actually, it would be best to avoid all bodily contact.
SANDERS: You sound just like my prom date.
ZIVA: Would you mind smiling for me?
SANDERS: Do I have something in my teeth?
ZIVA: No. You can stop smiling.
(SFX: ENGINE ACCELERATES)
(SFX: CAR TIRES SCREECH)
(SFX: ZIVA GASPS)
ZIVA: I’m sorry.
SANDERS: Don’t be.
ZIVA: Do we know each other?
SANDERS: Where did you go to college?
ZIVA: Israel.
SANDERS: Could we have met at a conference?
ZIVA: Yes, except I’ve never been to one.
SANDERS: Burning Man, two thousand two! Extreme Twister Camp.
ZIVA: I don’t even know what that means.
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. FIELD OFFICE – DAY
HOLLY: It took two hours, but I finally found three seats in a non-stop Lufthansa flight to Gdansk. Can you leave next Thursday?
SADOWSKI: Holly, I don’t know even if we’ll be making this trip. I’ll know more after I talk to NCIS. Special Agent Gibbs?
HOLLY: Okay, well, the sooner the better because the cancellation fees…
SADOWSKI: (OVERLAP) I understand. Just leave the itinerary. (TO GIBBS) I’m Mark Sadowski. We spoke on the phone. (TO DIANE) Diane, NCIS is here.
TONY: Which one is Lieutenant Sanders’ desk?
SADOWSKI: It’s clean.
TONY: I can see that.
GIBBS: He means they swept the office, Dinozzo.
SADOWSKI: When Roy said he was throwing up, we checked the radiation levels. They’re within normal limits.
TONY: I’ll gather his things.
RUSSIO: Hi, I’m Diane Russio. How’s Roy?
GIBBS: Transferred to AFRRI.
SADOWSKI: We were hoping it was just food poisoning.
GIBBS: Radiation.
RUSSIO: Do you know where he was exposed?
GIBBS: No, not yet.
SADOWSKI: Well it couldn’t have been Brazil. We toured the facility together, and Diane and I aren’t sick.
RUSSIO: Could someone have done this on purpose?
GIBBS: We’ll need your radiation badges.
SADOWSKI: Of course.
GIBBS: After hours in Brazil, did all of you stick together?
SADOWSKI: Uh, we stayed in the same hotel. Ate the same food. Roy would get up early and run. Oh, the night before we left, we hit the local bars for a cerveja and a cigar. Roy left early.
GIBBS: Alone?
RUSSIO: I was with him. We just went straight back to the hotel.
SADOWSKI: I’m thirty years older than both of them, and they’re the ones who are too tired to party.
RUSSIO: I’ll go get my badge.
SADOWSKI: So can we visit Roy?
GIBBS: Yeah, if he wants to see you.
CUT TO:
INT. ABBY'S LAB - DAY
GIBBS: Answers, Abs.
ABBY: I’ve got them, Gibbs. I took Lieutenant Sanders’ dosimeter apart and I discovered that it is hinky. I might even call it hinky-dory. Oh, come on, Gibbs. That’s a little cute. Okay. Um… if you follow this red beam, you can see there’s no clear path between the photomultiplier tubes and the crystal lattice. This little piece of plastic is blocking the light emissions.
GIBBS: Sabotage?
ABBY:
ABBY: Or faulty manufacturing. I mean, it’s a state-of-the-art life saving device, but it’s still made from injection-molded plastic. Just like a Happy Meal toy.
(CONT.) And you know how sometimes you get one of those and there will be a little blob of plastic on the leg and you have to bend it back and forth and back and forth?
GIBBS: Abby?
ABBY: Somebody needs a Happy Meal.
GIBBS: What about these?
ABBY: Um… these are operational. No globs. Their reading was a true positive. My conclusion is that Sanders had a bad batch. There was no foul play. If he hadn’t gotten sick, he wouldn’t have even noticed.
GIBBS: I need to talk to Ducky. (BEGIN MONITOR INTERCUTS)
(SCENE CUT)
GIBBS: (ON MONITOR) Hey Duck!
(SCENE CUT)
DUCKY: (ON MONITOR) Jethro, I was just about to call you.
GIBBS: Lieutenant Sanders wasn’t poisoned at the…
(SCENE CUT)
GIBBS: (ON MONITOR) … power plant.
DUCKY: I know. The radiobiology lab…
(SCENE CUT)
DUCKY: (ON MONITOR) … identified the isotope in his blood. It was thallium.
(SCENE CUT)
ABBY: (ON MONITOR) Wow. That is…
(SCENE CUT)
ABBY: Nasty stuff! Isn’t the non--
(SCENE CUT)
ABBY: (ON MONITOR) …radioactive form of that used for rat poison?
(SCENE CUT)
DUCKY: Oh, yes. It’s lethal…
(SCENE CUT)
DUCKY: (ON MONITOR) …and extremely effective. Colorless, odorless…
(SCENE CUT)
DUCKY: … tasteless and soluble in water.
(SCENE CUT)
GIBBS: Are you thinking ingestion?
DUCKY: (ON MONITOR) Oh, most likely. And no longer than seventy-two hours ago.
ABBY: Okay, so now we know the when. We just have to figure out why, how, and who. (END MONITOR INTERCUTS)
(MUSIC OUT)
FADE IN:
INT. AFFRI INTENSIVE CARE ROOM
HASS: The pigment, Prussian Blue, has been applied by artists since the Seventeen Hundreds. Yeah, it was used by van Gogh, Monet, Picasso.
SANDERS: Me.
ZIVA: How long until it takes effect?
HASS: About twenty-four hours. Prussian Blue works best when it’s used or taken as a preventative measure before exposure, or right after. But in the meantime, let’s see if you can replace the fluids you lost without an I.V. We prefer oral feeding to maintain the integrity of your gut.
SANDERS: My gut has integrity.
ZIVA: So does my spleen.
HASS: Now, you can eat anything you want just so long as it’s low microbial. But no drinking, and no smoking.
ZIVA: Are we done?
HASS: One more thing. We need to keep his stress levels down.
ZIVA: We’re in the middle of an investigation.
SANDERS: (OVERLAP) We’re in the middle of an investigation.
ZIVA: I have to go.
SANDERS: Any place I can get some fresh air?
HASS: This facility has an open air garden.
CUT TO:
INT. MONITORING STATION – DAY
GIBBS: They catch it in time?
ZIVA: Uh, unclear. The next twenty-four hours are key.
GIBBS: I’m more interested in the past. I want a list of every sip, every bite, every kiss, every time he’s hit the head in the past seventy-two hours. (DOOR CLOSES)
ZIVA: Do you think he’s hiding something?
GIBBS: Have you placed him yet?
ZIVA: No.
GIBBS: You place him first, Ziva. Trust later.
CUT TO:
INT. ABBY'S LAB
ABBY: There are only trace amounts of radiation on your clothes. But I’m still glad we tested them, because it’s better to be safe than glowing.
MCGEE: Where’s my jacket?
ABBY: It’s here. It’s really soft. Rub that against a certain part of your body…
MCGEE: You didn’t!
ABBY: I don’t even have that part!
MCGEE: Thank you for taking good care of my jacket.
ABBY: You’re welcome.
MCGEE: Ah!!
ABBY: What? I promised you I wouldn’t stain it! Just put your hand over it like this.
MCGEE: That looks very natural. Thank you. So did you find anything in the stuff Tony took from the Lieutenant’s desk?
ABBY: Nothing yet. I’m checking all the protein bars for needle puncture marks.
MCGEE: You think the killer injected them with thallium?
ABBY: That’s what I’d do. It’s pretty devious. Using something so healthy to make someone so sick.
CUT TO:
INT. AFFRI INTENSIVE CARE ROOM
ZIVA: So the rest of the pizza is inside your refrigerator?
SANDERS: Yeah. You can test it, but I, for one, trust Papa Don implicitly.
ZIVA: Hm… then what?
SANDERS: Brushed my teeth, and then I went to bed. I was pretty jetlagged, but I still got up to run the next morning.
ZIVA: What time?
SANDERS: Oh five thirty.
ZIVA: I thought I was the only one who got up that early to exercise.
SANDERS: Nope. I had water from the tap and an energy gel. Raspberry.
ZIVA: Noted.
SANDERS: Then I ran the two miles from my apartment to the Custis Trail which runs along the…
ZIVA: The Potomac!
SANDERS: Right. Then I headed over the…
ZIVA: The Arlington Memorial Bridge, where you passed a woman wearing a yellow windbreaker.
SANDERS: Is she part of the plot?
ZIVA: No, she’s me! You’re the one who wears the fluorescent orange watch cap when you run, correct?
SANDERS: Oh, yeah. So the cars will notice me.
ZIVA: People, too. I pass you every morning. I’m going east, you’re going west. Don’t you recognize me?
SANDERS: I’m sorry, no.
ZIVA: How about now? I mean, you’ve got to picture me sweating and panting and, you know…
SANDERS: Yeah, of course. I know you. You have a smooth stride, great carriage. I often turn after you pass to admire your technique.
ZIVA: Are you serious?
SANDERS: Yeah. Yeah. You have a very cute, tight technique.
(SFX: ZIVA LAUGHS)
ZIVA: Um, how far did you run that morning?
SANDERS: Eight miles. Went home. Showered. Headed to the field office. Ate two protein bars at my desk. Then at twelve hundred, Mark and I headed to Oakwood Shooting Range.
ZIVA: Where’s that?
SANDERS: Near Andrews.
ZIVA: What do you shoot?
SANDERS: Glock.
ZIVA: That’s a good choice.
SANDERS: And Mark and I ate lunch while we took target practice. I had a bacon cheeseburger with fries washed down with a large coffee.
ZIVA: (WHISTLES) You run like a health nut and eat like a slob.
SANDERS: I’ve always weighed the same. People told me at forty my body would change. I guess I might not have to worry about that.
ZIVA: Have you made a will? I’m sorry. That was too blunt. I…
SANDERS: No no no. I like blunt.
ZIVA: I was thinking your beneficiary would have a potential motive.
SANDERS: Well, the joke’s on them because I … I don’t have a will.
CUT TO:
INT. GARAGE – DAY
(ELEVATOR DINGS/ DOORS OPEN/ CLOSE)
TONY: Mark Sadowski, senior member of the team. He’s about to retire. You know what that means.
MCGEE: He gets a watch?
TONY: No, somebody’s going to bump him off. Stand procedure in seventies cop flicks.
MCGEE: Did Sadowski and Sanders get along?
TONY: Worked together nine years. Neither filed a complaint or request for transfer.
MCGEE: What about the other inspector?
TONY: Ah. Diane Russio. Something’s up with her. She made Gibb’s “Spidy-sense” tingle.
MCGEE: Oh, hey! Oh, hey hey! Don’t touch that! Sanders’ car can be a hot zone!
TONY: This car? I doubt it.
(SFX: CLICKS)
MCGEE: Rem is low. It’s safe.
TONY: After you, Probie.
(DOOR OPENS)
TONY: Oh…
MCGEE: Reeks of cigar.
TONY: It’s a manly scent. Good for you. You know what this guy being poisoned reminds me of?
MCGEE: A movie?
TONY: Yeah, but what movie?
MCGEE: A movie I’ve never seen.
TONY: D.O.A. it’s called. Nineteen fifty film noir. Classic. This accountant goes to San Francisco and parties all night. Wakes up, finds he’s poisoned. He has twenty-four hours to find --
MCGEE: (INTERRUPTING)I found something.
TONY: Is it dangerous?
MCGEE: Do you want kids? (BEAT) Kidding. The rem counts not that high. We should take it to x-ray.
TONY: Let’s see what we’ve got in here. (SFX: TONY GAGS)
MCGEE: Body parts?
TONY: Gym clothes.
GIBBS: Get them to Abby. Ziva called with a list of Lieutenant Sanders’ movements – where he went, what he ate.
MCGEE: We’ll start at his apartment, collect these items, sweep for radiation.
TONY: Ziva figure out how she knew him?
GIBBS: Personal connection.
TONY: Ziva has personal connections?
CUT TO:
EXT. GARDEN – DAY
ZIVA: Lieutenant!
(SFX: SANDERS GASPS)
ZIVA: Did I startle you?
SANDERS: A little. I’d say I was paranoid, but someone just poisoned me.
ZIVA: Who?
SANDERS: Well, I’ve racked my brain for enemies at work, but I uh… I can’t think of anyone.
ZIVA: What about your private life? Do you have a girlfriend?
SANDERS: Are you asking me in a professional capacity?
ZIVA: Yes!
SANDERS: I don’t have one.
ZIVA: Why not? (BEAT) Professional follow-up.
SANDERS: Well, I wouldn’t date anyone I work with, and outside of work, I’ve never met a woman who could understand why I do what I do.
ZIVA: The focus, the risks, the sacrifices.
SANDERS: They always want me to go teach, or go to law school. But I love what I do. I truly believe there are good guys who need protection, and bad guys who need monitoring.
ZIVA: It’s a mission, not a job.
SANDERS: “All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing.”
ZIVA: (BEAT) That’s my favorite quote ever!
(F/X: SANDERS STUMBLES)
ZIVA: Oh!
SANDERS: Sorry. I felt a little dizzy.
ZIVA: I have to get you into bed. (BEAT) Oh! (SFX: ZIVA LAUGHS)
SANDERS: I’m not saying anything.
ZIVA: Sorry, it’s the English.
CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY
RUSSIO: How long do you think he’s going to be in here?
SADOWSKI: Hey!
RUSSIO: Roy! Hi.
ZIVA: I’m sorry! No contact!
RUSSIO: I can’t believe this happened. Are you going to be all right?
SANDERS: Well, I hope so.
CUT TO:
EXT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY
(MUSIC OVER ACTION/ ZIVA KICKS AND HITS THE VENDING MACHINE)
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. AFFRI INTENSIVE CARE ROOM
SADOWSKI: We’ll probably just cancel next week’s trip.
SANDERS: Which one?
RUSSIO: Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Russia.
SADOWSKI: It’s one of those “If this is Tuesday, it must be Tashkent” trips.
SANDERS: Don’t cancel. See if Howard’s available. He’s a good man.
RUSSIO: Careful!
SANDERS: Sorry. I’m a… I’m a bit wiped out.
SADOWSKI: Well, we’ll let you get some rest. See you tomorrow, okay?
CUT TO:
INT. MONITORING STATION
ZIVA: I need to talk to you. It’s about Lieutenant Sanders’ personal life. Um… he says he doesn’t have a girlfriend, that he doesn’t date either.
SADOWSKI: Hard to believe, but I think it’s true.
ZIVA: Mister Sadowski, would you mind giving us a moment alone?
SADOWSKI: I’ll be at the elevators.
(SADOWSKI WALKS O.S.)
ZIVA: You know something. Is it about Brazil? When you two went back to the hotel together?
RUSSIO: Roy tell you about that?
ZIVA: No, my boss did. What happened?
RUSSIO: Nothing.
ZIVA: Tell me.
RUSSIO: Nothing! I got a little drunk. I knocked on his door. He wouldn’t let me in. I was a complete idiot and he was a complete gentleman.
ZIVA: Or maybe he’s gay.
RUSSIO: Oh, I don’t think he’s gay.
ZIVA: How do you know?
RUSSIO: I saw the way he looked at you.
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. ABBY'S LAB - DAY
ABBY: The higher levels of radiation are due to the concentration of Lieutenant Sanders’ sweat. He made his clothes radioactive, not vice versa.
(SFX: ABBY DRAGS ON THE DRINK)
GIBBS: Abs, it’s over!
ABBY: Oh, I just hate to see the first one in the morning end. I did get one unexpected piece of information. Lieutenant Sanders had a computerized chip in his left sneaker to log his workouts.
GIBBS: Is that one of those experimental D.O.D. things?
ABBY: Uh, no. You can buy them at any running store. It transmits into this. I was able to access his exercise logs. These are the last two weeks of his workout. He’s a machine. Eight miles everyday in under an hour.
GIBBS: Lieutenant Sanders was poisoned…
ABBY: Right around here.
GIBBS: His last two workouts were only slightly off-pace.
ABBY: Does that tell you something about the case?
GIBBS: It tells me something about the man.
ABBY: Like what?
GIBBS: Like he would have made a damn good Marine.
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. MONITORING ROOM - DAY
HASS: He’s sleeping again?
ZIVA: We took a walk around the garden and it knocked him out.
HASS: We got the second test results back.
ZIVA: Was the Prussian Blue effective?
HASS: No. Lieutenant Sanders’ lymphocytes are continuing to decrease and his radiation levels are higher than when he was admitted.
ZIVA: It doesn’t make any sense.
HASS: It does if he’s still being poisoned.
(MUSIC UP AND OUT)
MUSIC IN:
INT. MONITORING ROOM - DAY
ZIVA: (INTO PHONE) There’s no mistake, Gibbs. The doctor said Lieutenant Sanders’ radiation levels are increasing. (BEGIN TELEPHONE INTERCUTS)
(SCENE CUT)
ZIVA: (V.O./FILTERED) He’s still being poisoned.
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Someone wanted to finish the job.
(ELEVATOR DINGS/ DOORS OPEN/ CLOSE)
ZIVA: (V.O./FILTERED) Not a lot of people have access to him. Nurses,
(SCENE CUT)
ZIVA: (INTO PHONE) …doctors.
(SCENE CUT)
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) People preparing his food. Could be a lot.
ZIVA: (V.O./FILTERED) Plus he had two visitors from work…
(SCENE CUT)
ZIVA: (INTO PHONE) ….yesterday. Diane Russio and Mark …
(SCENE CUT)
ZIVA: (V.O./FILTERED) … Sadowski.
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Were they alone with him?
(SCENE CUT)
ZIVA: (INTO PHONE) Yes. At one point I went to the vending machine.
(SCENE CUT)
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) One of them could have slipped it in his water.
ZIVA: (V.O./FILTERED) What about Tony and…
(SCENE CUT)
ZIVA: (INTO PHONE) … McGee? Have they followed up on the list of…
(SCENE CUT)
ZIVA: (V.O./FILTERED) … locations?
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Swept Sanders apartment, office, running paths yesterday. All clean.
(SCENE CUT)
GIBBS: (V.O./FILTERED) They’ll hit the rest today.
ZIVA: (INTO PHONE) This is starting to look very…
(SCENE CUT)
ZIVA: (V.O./FILTERED) … targeted, Gibbs. Whoever did…
(SCENE CUT)
ZIVA: (INTO PHONE) … this, is not just after any nuclear inspector.
(SCENE CUT)
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Sanders know he’s still being poisoned?
ZIVA: (V.O./FILTERED) Not yet.
(SCENE CUT)
ZIVA: (INTO PHONE) I’m worried it will increase his stress.
GIBBS: (V.O./FILTERED) Your call.
(SCENE CUT)
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) You stick with him, Ziva.
(SCENE CUT)
ZIVA: (INTO PHONE) Like tattoos on Abby. (END TELEPHONE INTERCUTS)
(ZIVA WALKS INTO THE INTENSIVE CARE ROOM)
ZIVA: I think this will make you feel better. They tested the pizza inside the refrigerator, and um… you were right about Papa Don.
SANDERS: Yes! Exonerated! Did they… did they find any clues? Any answers?
ZIVA: Not yet. But they’re still looking.
SANDERS: Well tell them to hurry up. I want to know who killed me before I die. Ziva? Can you do something else for me?
ZIVA: Of course.
SANDERS: Can you find me a lawyer? I think I need to write my will.
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
EXT. SHOOTING RANGE – DAY
(SFX: GUNFIRE)
CHESNEY: Mark and Roy came here a couple of times a week, usually at lunchtime. You check out Roy’s two perfect targets hanging inside?
TONY: Missed them. Which station did they use?
CHESNEY: Oh, we don’t keep track. At lunch time it’s first available. But if you really need to know, I’ve got a security camera. Insurance made me put it in last year after I got sued.
(SFX: CLICKS B.G.)
TONY: Personal injury?
CHESNEY: Sexual harassment. See, I like to come up behind a shooter and correct his stance. Most appreciate it. One guy from Utah didn’t. Bet I could correct your stance.
TONY: I’m okay with my stance.
CHESNEY: Sure would like to teach you how to position your shoulders over your hips.
TONY: Hey, we should get the security footage and review it back at the office to see where they were.
MCGEE: No need. I think we just found our hot zone. (SFX: RAPID CLICKS B.G.)
CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY
(SFX: VENDING MACHINE COFFEE POURS INTO CUP)
ZIVA: I’ve been working for thirty hours straight.
MCGEE: This is only my fourth cup of the day.
TONY: Mossad. Hot liquid. I’d let her have it, McGee.
ZIVA: Thanks.
TONY: So you spent the night in the Lieutenant’s room, huh?
ZIVA: Yes. We stayed up late talking.
TONY: Yeah, I remember staying up late in college… talking. What’s that look on your face?
ZIVA: What look?
TONY: Are you falling in love with a dying man?
ZIVA: Of course, not!
TONY: Hey! The look on your face says you are.
ZIVA: When did you become an expert on love? Last time I checked, your idea of a long-term commitment was a three day weekend. What’s that look on your face?
TONY: Nothing. I was just going to say…
ZIVA: (OVERLAP) Look, I know what you’re going to say. Next time Lieutenant Sanders and I stay up late talking, we’re going to use a lead condom. Thank you.
TONY: (OVERLAP) No, Ziva. I was going to say I hope he pulls through, but you should know that I found a photo of an attractive woman, a kid, and a husky in his desk.
GIBBS: How did he ingest the thallium?
TONY: Well, they ate lunch at the shooting range, and Abby’s combing through the physical evidence, but we still haven’t found the smoking gun.
MCGEE: We swept the dumpsters at the shooting range, but the levels were low. Same with the kitchen.
TONY: There were two food preparers, two servers. They all scanned clean. So did Dee Dee -- she’s the rather eccentric woman who runs the place.
ZIVA: Then Roy – sorry – Lieutenant Sanders must have been contaminated at the point of consumption.
MCGEE: Well, do you think someone spiked his hamburger or his coffee?
GIBBS: Who got near his food?
MCGEE: I watched the security footage and Mark Sadowski is with him the whole time. But you can’t see the table or the food. The cameras are trained on the shooting stalls.
TONY: Oh, believe me. You don’t want to know why that is.
MCGEE: Someone could have come from the back… not been seen.
ZIVA: Sadowski was at the range, and he was here, which places him at both contamination sites.
GIBBS: Bring him in.
TONY: On it, Boss.
GIBBS: I thought I told you to stay with Lieutenant Sanders the whole time.
ZIVA: Agent Lee’s with him. He’s making out his will.
GIBBS: You can’t die unless you see a lawyer.
ZIVA: Hey. He may not die. He may pull through.
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. AFFRI INTENSIVE CARE ROOM
LEE: Officer David, I need you to witness the document.
SANDERS: In case you’re wondering, I left it all to my sister. I hope she appreciates it. We fight a lot.
ZIVA: Someday I’ll tell you about my family.
SANDERS: Yeah, but don’t wait too long.
ZIVA: Does your sister have a Husky?
SANDERS: How’d you know?
ZIVA: That’s a nice addition to any family.
SANDERS: Do you have a dog?
ZIVA: No.
(SFX: SANDERS COUGHS)
LEE: I’ll file this with the court, but I hope we don’t need to execute it for a very long, long time.
SANDERS: Thank you, Agent Lee.
LEE: You’re welcome.
(SFX: SANDERS GASPS)
LEE: Ziva, Abby sent back some of his things.
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM
GIBBS: You know a lot about handling radioactive materials.
SADOWSKI: Sure. For my job.
GIBBS: You were at the shooting range with Lieutenant Sanders a few days ago.
SADOWSKI: We had lunch.
GIBBS: Slipped him a little thallium?
SADOWSKI: I’ve never touched thallium. Look, I had nothing to do with Roy getting poisoned. Nothing.
GIBBS: Skip the denials. Tell me why?
CUT TO:
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM
TONY: This is my favorite part.
MCGEE: The part where Gibbs breaks him?
TONY: No. The part right before Gibbs breaks him, when the guy still thinks he has a chance.
CUT TO:
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM
GIBBS: Why?
SADOWSKI: There is no why.
GIBBS: Why?
SADOWSKI: I didn’t do it! I would never hurt Roy!
GIBBS: Sit down!
SADOWSKI: He’s my friend. We traveled the world together. When I thought I had prostate cancer, he was the first person I called. So if you have any proof I did this, lay it out for me. Let me see it, because I know it doesn’t exist.
CUT TO:
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM
TONY: He’ll break him.
CUT TO:
INT. ABBY'S LAB - DAY
ABBY: I finished analyzing the debris that I vacuumed from the shooting-range gravel. (BEGIN TELEPHONE INTERCUTS)
DUCKY: (ON MONITOR) Was it our prime suspect?
ABBY: You mean Frenchie?
(SCENE CUT)
ABBY: (ON MONITOR) Yeah. The fry registered scant radioactivity after it was dusted. None of the larger items…
(SCENE CUT)
ABBY: Are contaminated, but the micro debris was through the roof.
DUCKY: (ON MONITOR) Were you able to break down its components?
ABBY: Well, it took me a while, but I isolated human skin…
(SCENE CUT)
ABBY: (ON MONITOR) … human hair, lint, tobacco ash – both large and small….
(SCENE CUT)
ABBY: … salt, pepper, dirt…
(SCENE CUT)
ABBY: (ON MONITOR) … and pollen. Ducky? Ducky?
(SCENE CUT)
JIMMY: (ON MONITOR) He’s gone.
ABBY: Oh.
(SCENE CUT)
JIMMY: I’ve got to go, too.
(MUSIC OVER ACTION/JIMMY AND LEE UNDRESS)
(SCENE CUT)
ABBY: I guess when you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go. (END TELEPHONE INTERCUTS)
CUT TO:
INT. HALLWAY – DAY
(DOOR OPENS)
GIBBS: Make it fast, Duck.
DUCKY: We found the smoking gun, with the emphasis on smoking. Abby isolated large radioactive ash from the debris from the shooting range. It wasn’t ingestion. It was inhalation.
MCGEE: Someone injected the thallium into the cigar.
DUCKY: Yes, it’s very efficient, too, because the lungs feed directly into the blood stream.
TONY: Sadowski mentioned hitting the bars with Lieutenant Sanders in Brazil for cerveja and a cigar. So…
MCGEE: Wait, Boss. I need to show you something.
TONY: I really hope it’s not that You-Tube clip I sent him this morning, because it’s a little…
CUT TO:
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM
MCGEE:
MCGEE:
Well, I downloaded the security camera feed from the shooting range. Here’s the isolated footage of Mark Sadowski and Lieutenant Sanders.
(CONT.) If you had laced a cigar with thallium, would you stick around to breathe in the smoke?
DUCKY: That’s not likely. It’s like pulling the pin on a grenade, handing it to someone, and then standing beside them.
TONY: Sadowski didn’t know they were contaminated with radiation.
(SFX: SADOWSKI CHOKES B.G.)
DUCKY: No! Stay here.
(DOOR OPENS)
TONY: That explains why you couldn’t break him. He didn’t do it.
(MUSIC UP AND OUT)
FADE IN:
INT. AFFRI INTENSIVE CARE ROOM
ZIVA: Where are they?
SANDERS: What are you talking about?
ZIVA: The cigars you smoke when you go outside to get some fresh air?
SANDERS: Okay, I had a puff or two. I know the doctors said no--
ZIVA: (SHOUTS) No!! Where are they?
SANDERS: I had no idea you were so anti-smoking. I mean, honestly, at this point I consider myself lucky to live long enough to die of cancer.
ZIVA: Look, Roy, these cigars are laced with thallium. Were they a gift?
SANDERS: I uh… I bought them myself. Duty-free, Sao Paulo Airport.
ZIVA: Who else had access to these?
SANDERS: They were in my desk until I stuck them in my bag. Oh, man….
(SFX: SANDERS BREATHES RAPIDLY)
(SFX: RAPID BEEP TONES)
ZIVA: Okay! Okay! You need to relax. You need to stay calm!
HASS: It’s all right, Roy. It’s all right. Deep breaths, now. Take deep breaths. Keep breathing.
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. HALLWAY – DAY
MCGEE: Two out of three inspectors poisoned. Someone is targeting the agency.
TONY: Make a lot of enemies wherever they’ve been, Boss.
GIBBS: Or wherever they’re going. You stick with Sadowski, Dinozzo. McGee, get Diane Russio in here. She’s the only inspector who isn’t sick.
MCGEE: Yet.
CUT TO:
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM – DAY
RUSSIO: We do a dozen inspections a year, Agent Gibbs, in a dozen different countries. People don’t like us. But I can’t believe any government would sanction this. Thank you. We all got tested after Roy. My results were negative. Am I still at risk?
GIBBS: Low-level exposure. Lieutenant Sanders was the target. You have an inspection next week?
RUSSIO: Roy insisted we still go. But now that Mark’s sick…
GIBBS: Where?
RUSSIO: That’s classified. We prefer it if they don’t know we’re coming.
GIBBS: Need to know.
RUSSIO: Russia, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan. (SFX: TELEPHONE BEEP TONES)
MCGEE: Names of the facilities?
OPERATOR: (V.O./FILTERED) Operator.
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) I need satellite time. Now!
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. MTAC ROOM – DAY
MCGEE: Last one, Boss. Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Image of the Taskent reactor stabilizing. Before the fall of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan was the top producer of weapons-grade materials.
GIBBS: Yeah, and after?
MCGEE: They dismantled the centrifuge. But if they wanted to put it back together…
GIBBS: They’d bring the pieces in with heavy equipment trucks like these. A lot of activity.
MCGEE: Looks like they’re building something.
GIBBS: Or pulling it down. I need a shot from earlier this week.
MCGEE: Try the same location ninety-six hours ago.
TECHNICIAN: (V.O.) Accessing now.
MCGEE: Someone’s expecting guests.
GIBBS: Get that footage to D.O.D. and IAEA headquarters in Vienna.
(SFX: TELEPHONE BEEP TONES)
TONY: (V.O./FILTERED) Dinozzo.
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Hey. Someone tipped off Uzbekistan. Ask Sadowski… (BEGIN TELEPHONE INTERCUTS)
(SCENE CUT)
GIBBS: (V.O./FILTERED) … who knew.
TONY: (INTO PHONE) Sadowski is out of it, Boss.
(SCENE CUT)
TONY: (V.O./FILTERED) The doctor sedated him.
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Lieutenant Sanders, then.
TONY: (V.O./FILTERED) Checking. (END TELEPHONE INTERCUTS)
GIBBS: McGee, I want bank records for everyone working at the Agency. I want details for every inspection ever done on that facility.
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. AFFRI INTENSIVE CARE ROOM
SANDERS: I feel like I’m running a marathon.
ZIVA: You are.
SANDERS: I called my parents. My mom’s taking it bad. The good news is Dad’s going to fix it. They’re on their way here. Dad – he’s going to turn it all around.
ZIVA: Call in some favors.
SANDERS: Ask the right questions.
ZIVA: Because every problem has a solution.
SANDERS: Exactly!
ZIVA: God, he sounds a lot like my father.
SANDERS: He was tough on me, but I made him proud.
ZIVA: Do they have far to travel?
SANDERS: Too far. They’ll need to be here anyway. Decisions to make. I’d like for you to meet them. Is that weird?
ZIVA: No. I would like to meet them.
TONY: How is he?
ZIVA: He’s fighting.
TONY: Gibbs has a question for him.
ZIVA: I think he just fell asleep.
TONY: Lieutenant? Lieutenant Sanders?
SANDERS: Ziva?
ZIVA: I’m here. Agent DiNozzo needs to ask you a question.
TONY: Who knew you were going to Uzbekistan next week?
SANDERS: Classified.
TONY: Who decided where you’d go?
SANDERS: My decision. Short list. Kept everyone guessing.
TONY: Who’d you tell? Roy? Lieutenant! Who did you tell, Roy?
SANDERS: Mark. I told Mark.
ZIVA: Are you done?
TONY: Who else did you tell? Roy? Anyone else?
SANDERS: Diane. Just… just Mark and Diane.
TONY: Diane. Okay. Thank you. (SFX: TELEPHONE BEEP TONES)
CUT TO:
INT. MONITORING ROOM - DAY
TONY: (INTO PHONE) Hey, Boss? The Lieutenant says only two others knew he was going to Uzbekistan…Mark Sadowski and Diane Russio. (BEGIN TELEPHONE INTERCUTS)
(SCENE CUT)
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) How is he?
TONY: (V.O./FILTERED) He’s fading…
(SCENE CUT)
TONY: (INTO PHONE) … fast. (END TELEPHONE INTERCUTS)
CUT TO:
INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY
MCGEE: Boss, inspectors have been back to Uzbekistan six times in the past four years. Next week’s inspection would have been lucky number seven. Sanders has been at every one of them.
GIBBS: That makes him an expert.
MCGEE: If anything had changed, he’s the guy that would have noticed. Explains why they targeted him.
GIBBS: What makes you think it was them, McGee?
DUCKY: (V.O./FILTERED) Doctor Mallard.
GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Hey Duck. I need you to check something.
DUCKY: (V.O./FILTERED) Mm-hmm.
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY
(SFX: TONY BANGS ON THE VENDING MACHINE)
ZIVA: The other side.
(SFX: TONY BANGS ON THE VENDING MACHINE)
TONY: Well, you know you’ve been in the hospital too long when you’ve figured out the vending machine.
ZIVA: You think I’ve been here too long?
TONY: Do you want some of this?
ZIVA: That’s Roy’s sister. The woman in the photo. The one with the kid and the dog.
TONY: I had to ask him, Ziva.
ZIVA: I know.
TONY: Are you okay?
ZIVA: Part of me just wants to run. And I can’t believe this is happening to me. To me, of all people.
TONY: Well, you shouldn’t take it as a sign of weakness.
ZIVA: Well, then how should I take it, Tony? Character-building? Life-affirming? Somehow I don’t think Roy sees it that way. (BEAT) I’m sorry. Sorry.
SANDERS: Ziva! I’m dying of boredom in there…
ZIVA: It’s okay. I’ve got you!
SANDERS: Hey, what’s a guy got to do to get a pretty girl to take a walk in the garden?
HASS: Roy! You shouldn’t be out of bed. You need to be back in bed.
ZIVA: It’s okay, Doctor. I can manage.
HASS: (OVERLAP) No, no, no. He needs to be--
TONY: (OVERLAP) Doctor Hass, excuse me. Can I speak to you for a second? I think… I think I may have been exposed. I don’t know how. And I don’t mean to be an alarmist, but I’ve got that burning sensation, and the headaches and the vomiting, and the whole thing.
HASS: (OVERLAP) Diarrhea? You’ve got the diarrhea?
TONY: Yeah, like a tap. And it just hit me. And I…
HASS: Okay, let’s set you down. We’re going to need to run some tests.
CUT TO:
INT. AUTOPSY ROOM – DAY
(SFX: DOORS SLIDE OPEN)
DUCKY: Ah, Jethro. As per your request, I’ve revealed the reviewed the results of the tests carried out on the agency staff after it was confirmed that the Lieutenant had been exposed. And I’ve found what you were looking for. Trace amounts of ferric forrocyanide. Prussian Blue. Someone was taking it prophylactically… as a preventative measure, Jethro.
GIBBS: Who?
DUCKY: Her.
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY
MCGEE: Got her, Boss. Fifty thousand in cash deposited over the past three months. Closed the account this morning. Shifted the funds offshore. Looks like she’s about to do a runner.
GIBBS: Where is she now?
MCGEE: Just checked. Still in the office.
CUT TO:
INT. IAEA FIELD OFFICE
RUSSIO: (INTO PHONE) No! I don’t want to travel via London! I want a direct flight. Yes, I know it’s last minute, but I’m – look, there must be other carriers.
GIBBS: Ms. Russio!
RUSSIO: Agent Gibbs!
GIBBS: Your travel coordinator, Holly Stegman?
RUSSIO: Okay, she just left me here with this mess! Flight plans…
GIBBS: Which way?
RUSSIO: I’m trying to--
GIBBS: (SHOUTS) Which way!?
RUSSIO: Parking garage.
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
INT. CAR – PARKED
HOLLY: Come on!
(MUSIC OVER ACTION/CAR BACKS UP RAPIDLY)
MCGEE: (V.O.) Stop!! Stop!!
(MUSIC OVER ACTION/CAR RACES THROUGH THE PARKING STRUCTURE)
(SFX: CAR TIRES SCREECH)
(DOOR OPENS)
HOLLY: No! No! Wait! Wait!
MCGEE: Out of the car!
HOLLY: No! I didn’t mean to do it! I couldn’t kill Roy anymore than I could run over you! I wanted to make him sick, so he couldn’t travel! That’s all! He would have known. He would have realized that it was either Mark or me! Just tell me!! Wait!! Tell me it didn’t kill him. No! No! No! (CRYING)
MCGEE: She could have killed you, Boss!
MUSICAL BRIDGE TO:
EXT. GARDEN – DAY
SANDERS: What a perfect day for a run.
ZIVA: Mmm.
SANDERS: I’d even consider a double loop.
ZIVA: I have something of yours. (BEAT) I remember you now!
SANDERS: All those mornings I ran right past you.
ZIVA: You blasted past me.
SANDERS: I uh… I used to put in a little extra kick to impress the ladies.
ZIVA: (LAUGHS) Well, it worked.
SANDERS: I’m sorry we never got to run together.
ZIVA: Me, too.
SANDERS: Do you think you’d notice… that I was no longer there? That I’d stopped running?
ZIVA: Yes, I would have noticed. I would have missed seeing you.
SANDERS: And eventually you would have forgotten me.
ZIVA: Yes. I won’t forget you now.
(MUSIC OVER ENDING CREDITS AND OUT)
* * * * * * * *
Prepared by C.C. Printed in USA
Calvert Continuities Aired 2/20/06
