NCIS: Origins (2024) s02e13 Episode Script

1
♪
OLDER GIBBS: It all started
on a lonely Wednesday night.
Well, it all started
with Ducky, actually.
He'd just finished up
his first official day
as Head Medical Examiner
in the D.C. office.
Dr. Magnus retired the day before.
So, by the time Ducky got home,
he was dying for some "morgue talk"
- with a live human.
- (TELEPHONE RINGING)
San Diego County
Medical Examiner's Office,
Dr. Téngalkat speaking.
DUCKY: Dr. Téngalkat,
how delightful you answered.
It's Donald Mallard.
We met when
I had the pleasure of visiting
Camp Pendleton and lending a hand on
Dr. Mallard. How's it going?
OLDER GIBBS: Ducky asked Tango's
advice on the case he worked that day,
and he was pretty excited
when Tango called him
the next week to do the same.
Don't stay up too late.
It's not good for your pancreas.
- Night, Lenora.
- Night.
Couple of weeks in, they decided
to make it a standing call.
Every Wednesday night,
they'd discuss the ups and downs
of medical examining.
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
Right on time, Dr. Téngalkat.
It's good to hear your voice, man.
I have much to recount from my week,
but you certainly sound
as if you've had quite a day.
Decapitation by steel beam.
Dear God. Partial or complete?
OLDER GIBBS: Ducky didn't
have many friends in D.C.,
and there was a hole
in Tango's life, too,
without his favorite niece Tish around.
So they stayed on the phone longer.
Ducky told Tango how to make
a damn good cup of English tea.
Tango answered all of
Ducky's burning questions
about the Payómkawichum tribe.
They talked about family,
their mothers, their pasts,
their stories.
They became friends.
But one Wednesday night
(LINE RINGING)
something happened.
And by then
(LINE CONTINUES RINGING)
Ducky knew his friend
well enough to know
- (TELEPHONE RINGING)
- Tango wouldn't miss
their Wednesday night call
- for anything.
- (RINGING)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
What are you doing here? (GASPS)
I don't want you to go.
(INHALES SHARPLY)
(DISHES CLATTERING)
MANNY: I got a surprise for you.
Good morning.
What?
I didn't know how you liked your eggs.
You don't even eat breakfast.
I made it for you.
Oh.
This scar,
how'd you get it?
Manny
You can't do the things you do to me,
and then not tell me
how you got stabbed.
Was it an initiation?
How old were you?
You gotta try the French toast.
(MANNY LAUGHS)
- Oh, wow.
- Yes.
Oh, wow.
You have some skills, dude.
Maybe I could make you dinner sometime.
Like with courses.
Like a real date?
But I don't know, um
I never know when Flaco needs me,
so I can't really plan it anyway.
I present to you the extra key
to the fancy, unpickable
cross lock on my door.
Surprise me sometime.
I always come home from work eventually.
What would your work guys think?
My work guys think
you are a model citizen named Jonny.
Jonny's probably a big-time chef.
Yeah, but
I like Manny better.
Oh, yeah?
MARY JO: Ah, come on.
Morning, Mary Jo.
- You just missed your wife.
- What?
She was here?
No, Gibbs,
she called from L.A. Remember, honey,
she works there now.
Yeah, I just didn't know what you
(SIGHS) She was probably
calling me back.
She wasn't there
when I called her last night.
This dang thing.
Earl from IT took my answering machine
and switched me to this new
- voicemail crap.
- What's a voicemail?
Exactly. I gotta crack a numeric code
just to get my messages.
Whoo! We made the newsletter.
- Really?
- GIBBS: What newsletter?
RANDY: The NIS newsletter.
They distribute it to every
NIS office in the country.
Nobody here reads it
because it's only ever about
the big dogs in D.C. Oh.
CLIFF: Mary Jo.
Did my divorce lawyer
leave a message last night?
I don't know, Cliff, I'm working on it.
We're in the NIS Newsletter.
- What? Oh.
- Mm-hmm.
"Included in the Fed Five
"are two members
of the NIS Pendleton team,
Mike Franks and Elroy Gibbs."
They-they-they misspelled your name,
but who cares?
You're immortal now, buddy.
- Morning.
- We made the NIS newsletter.
- No!
- Our team?
Careful, don't rip it.
I swear to God,
if Earl doesn't give me back
my answering machine,
we're gonna have words.
"Elroy Gibbs"? They didn't
even get your name right.
Randy, this is like
a dream come true for you.
- Where's your name?
- Oh, please.
Randolf's not named.
This publication's
for serious agents only.
I'm serious.
You do standup, Rando.
You also frolic too much.
I've never seen you stand still.
- It's concerning.
- MARY JO: Oh, my God.
Franks, you need to get down
- to Mesa Detention Center.
- What?
Dr. Friedman left a message
saying Doc Tango is in jail.
He got pulled over for a DUI.
Tango was driving hammered?
The hell didn't he use
his one phone call
to have me come get him?
Probie, with me.
Boss. Here.
Excuse me, ma'am,
we're here to post bail for a detainee.
Name's Temét Téngalkat.
Bail's not set for Tankon-lot yet.
There's a mix-up with the magistrate.
I need to re-file for the hearing.
We're gonna need to see him,
then. Where's the sign-in?
Visiting hours don't start till 10:00.
What are you boys, FBI?
NIS. You the one that brung him in?
Yeah, Joseph Sanders, NPS Ranger.
I arrested Tankon-lot just
outside Mission National Park.
You got a warrant to see him?
His name is Téngalkat and he's family.
You don't look like his family.
Nah, you look like a (CHUCKLES)
a cowboy to his Indian.
Okay, how about you tell us
what happened out there?
He's a damn park guy, probie.
You should be out there
breaking up squirrel fights.
I'm a federal agent just like you.
Do you even have cause to arrest him?
FRANKS: Okay.
Now, it's starting to make sense.
You made up a cause, didn't you?
Tango don't ever
get behind the wheel drunk.
Okay, I think you got
your wires crossed here.
This wasn't a DUI.
I picked your guy up
for stealing a body.
Ha! Stealing a body?
The man's an M.E. Transporting
dead folks is what he does.
He put the remains in the back
of his own personal vehicle
and fled the scene.
You got any witnesses to that?
Just so you know, a guy showed up
with a warrant for the body
a few minutes ago.
Who?
Greetings, dear gentlemen.
- Hey.
- Though circumstances may be dire,
your shining faces are
just what the doctor ordered.
Ducky, what are you doing here?
I was Dr. Téngalkat's one phone call.
The hell didn't you call us?
I assumed you were already aware.
Besides, there was no time to chat.
Dr. Téngalkat asked me
to drop everything
and fly here straightaway
to assist with the situation.
You think you can talk some
sense into that Ranger Rick?
He's trying to claim
that Tango stole a body.
Well, I hate to be
the bearer of bad tidings
but I'm afraid he did.
He popped the remains in here
and drove off like the dickens.
Son of a bitch.
Wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold on.
Are you saying Tango
actually stole a body,
or is the Ranger Rick dude
trying to frame him?
No, Tango definitely drove off with it.
But it's more of a skeleton.
Why would he steal a skeleton?
Tell them I say hello, would you?
- Oh, my God.
- Oh!
- Is that Dr. Mallard?
- What are you doing here?
- We love you so much.
- You gotta come by, visit us, honey.
RANDY: Gibbs, ask him if we can
call him Ducky.
Uh, and tell him congrats
on becoming head M.E.
- What, you're head M.E. now?
- MARY JO: Yeah,
it was in the newsletter.
It's nothing, really.
Oop, it's nearly 10:00.
GIBBS: Yeah, this Sanders guy
is being a real ass.
He's having
the receptionist make us wait
until 10:00 to see Tango.
Why don't you just
talk to the corrections officer?
Franks did,
but the two of them got into it.
Yes, Michael is rather on edge
due to his adoration for Dr. Téngalkat.
GIBBS: We're trying
to give him some space,
you know, like we do with
Wheeler when he eats lactose.
I'm standing right here, Gibbs.
Sorry, sir.
(CLEARS THROAT) We'll keep you posted.
(GIBBS CLEARS THROAT) Ma'am.
I think it's 10:00.
SANDERS: From where I'm sitting,
it's 9:59.
- Moira?
- Looks like 9:59 to me.
Don't you got an office
in the woods somewhere?
These are community desks,
and I want to make sure
that nobody tries
to jump above the law,
seeing as how my detainee has friends
who don't think
the rules should apply to them.
MOIRA: It's 10:00.
Visiting hours have started.
Sign yourselves in.
(DOOR BUZZER SOUNDS)
Did you get it all done?
Are the remains legally in your custody?
Yes, I did exactly as you asked.
Oh, thank you. Now,
I need you to take them to forensics
- and have them dated.
- Hang on there, Chief.
You want to tell us what
the hell happened last night?
A call came in.
Some youth rangers were
camping in Mission Park,
and they found a skeleton
that was dug up by an animal.
The coroner vans were all out on calls,
- so I took my own car.
- GIBBS: Dr. Friedman was
gonna meet you there later with a van?
That's right. Then I get there
and I see the skeleton. It's
it's old.
There were seashells on the ribcage.
Remnants of a necklace.
TANGO: It's a style
popular with my tribe,
from my family clan.
Those are the remains
of a Payómkawichum man.
He needs a proper burial.
His spirit needs to rest.
But the commission won't act
without proof.
- Commission, what commission?
- DUCKY: NAGPRA, correct?
Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation Act.
If we could give the commission
definitive proof
the remains are Payómkawichum,
they'll be returned to the tribe.
DUCKY: If not,
the remains will be auctioned
off to the highest bidder.
Is there much of a market for that?
Oh, yes, Jethro. Museums and collectors
pay exorbitant amounts for such things.
TANGO: I knew if I
didn't get the remains
home to the reservation,
they'd end up on display
in some museum.
I wasn't thinking.
I just reacted.
I made it a mile before
that ranger stopped me.
You know what bringing
my ancestor home means to me.
Yes, I remember what
you told me about your father.
TANGO: Mike?
(DOOR BUZZER SOUNDS)
We must start gathering proof.
I'll get the remains
to forensics for dating.
I won't let you down, Doctor.
Go on, probie.
Take Dominguez and Rando
back to the scene,
see if you can find any other Indian
stuff
that can help us prove this.
(DOOR BUZZER SOUNDS)
Look, I know what this would've meant
to your daddy, but you could
get fired for this, Chief.
I'm not concerned about that.
Then I'll be concerned for you.
Bail ain't been set.
I'm gonna wait for
that ranger to get back,
and I'm gonna convince him
to drop the charges.
How do I look in orange, hmm?
Gravesite's just past
that tree line. So,
you're looking for some
Native American stuff?
We're also gonna need the names
of anyone who was around last night.
It's possible someone
unknowingly removed evidence.
Were those people here at the time?
Uh, no.
A couple of youth rangers were
the ones that found the bones.
- Good.
- I can get you a list
of everyone that was camping here.
I like your art. That's a lot of cans.
Uh, don't touch it.
It's not soldered yet.
Hey, so, question.
Do you guys think
Wheeler was right about me
not being serious enough
to make the newsletter?
Hey, you're still
typing all the case files
into the computer, aren't you?
- That's something.
- LALA: Yeah.
Yeah, but
will you ask Diane what she thinks
when you finally get ahold of her?
I value her opinion.
- What the hell?
- RANDY: Okay,
you can ask Jonny, too.
He seems like
a serious kind of guy, right?
What does he do again?
He's a chef.
- Really?
- Never mind.
Forget I brought it up.
A serious agent would be
making a game plan
for searching the gravesite
for Payómkawichum artifacts.
(RANDY GROANING)
Yeah, your table could
use some soldering, too.
Sorry. Um
We're gonna take that list
- of the campers.
- Yeah.
We'll be at the gravesite if you
think of anything else.
RENEE: Leave it!
I'm never gonna make the newsletter.
GIBBS: Rando, let's go.
RANDY: Yeah.
You find something?
LALA: Got some blood.
They must've missed it
in the dark last night.
Gibbs is following the trail.
Someone gets hurt at the grave,
staggers this way, losing blood.
He grabbed the tree here.
LALA: There's more up there.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING)
Guys.
No way Doc Tango knew
about this part, right?
(FLASH CHARGING)
He was murdered over the remains?
FRANKS: Looks that way.
Guess an animal didn't
dig up them bones after all.
And there was a blood trail?
I didn't see it. I-I didn't know.
It was dark out.
Plus, you were
all caught up trying to get
your guy's skeleton to the reservation.
Look, the team's
gonna get that murder solved.
Ducky's taking care of the bones.
You and me, we gotta focus on
getting you out of here with your job.
- I told you, that's not
- Listen to me.
That park ranger,
he heard about the body.
He circled over there.
I told Dominguez to send him
back here to talk to us.
I'm thinking, you know,
once he sees who you are
He knows I'm an M.E.
He arrested me anyways.
No, I mean
What?
He was butchering your name on purpose.
And then he's sitting here
in this community desk,
watching over you like a hawk.
The man don't like Indians!
Probably not Black folks,
either, or anybody
with a shake of pepper in them.
We gotta show him
that you're just like a white person,
only more native
to the land and whatnot.
Okay, Mike.
Chief, I'm telling you,
you got to make him understand
why you took them bones.
You got to tell him about your daddy.
That's the only way
- he's gonna drop the charges.
- (DOOR BUZZER SOUNDS)
Agent Franks.
Your people said
you were looking to see me.
Yes, sir, that's right. Have a seat.
Take a load off.
The youth rangers who found the bones,
they, uh, they said they heard some
UFO kind of sounds beforehand.
I'm guessing that
had something to do with
this new murder we got.
You know anything about that?
UFO sounds?
He don't know nothing about this.
He was called to the scene
after, just like you.
Tell him.
I was called to the scene after.
Come on.
Tell him about your daddy.
The highway was being built.
14 of my people's remains were dug up
and sold to the highest bidders.
My father
dedicated his life to
trying to bring them home
to the reservation
for a proper burial.
He fought with everything in him.
Died trying.
FRANKS: You hear that?
Tango was just trying
to do right by his daddy.
You got a daddy, don't you?
Mm-hmm.
You file charges against this man,
he's as good as fired.
That is a loss to everyone
in this damn county.
I'm postponing the magistrate hearing.
But only to complete
my own investigation,
see if I need to charge him
with something more than grave-robbing.
Come on, he ain't done
nothing else and you know it.
Get me what info
you got on this new body,
and, uh, we'll see what I think.
(DOOR BUZZER SOUNDS)
Son of a bitch.
(DOOR CLOSES)
You, good sir, have been identified
through the contents of your wallet
as 39-year-old
Marine veteran Dennis Moor.
I hear you lived a few miles from base,
and judging by the tools and amenities
inside your tent,
I gather you very much
enjoyed solo camping
and unearthing forgotten relics.
But tell me, Mr. Moor.
When you were inside said tent
did you feel at home?
I've never seen anyone
talk to the bodies before.
- Forgive me, Dr. Friedman.
- (LAUGHS)
I'm on your dance floor.
Oh, no, please.
I'm stoked to finally meet you.
Tango's constantly bragging
about your phone calls.
Was he doing okay when you saw him?
(DOOR OPENS)
What do we got, Duck?
Did you say "duck" or "doc?"
I'll listen to whoever's talking.
Would you mind talking while I dig?
Just the thought of Tango getting canned
is just making me come off
abnormal.
I don't mind at all. Mr. Moor
was stabbed to death, Jethro.
The murder weapon was unusual.
It made an exceptionally clean cut,
but when striking the rib,
a fragment of the weapon
chipped off inside the wound.
And I am trying to get it out,
but it is jammed
(GROANS) Son of a motherless ovary!
- I could give it a go if you like.
- FRIEDMAN: Sorry.
I'm just, uh, worried about Tango.
Thank you.
Oh, I'm gonna give Woody a call
and see how he's doing
on dating those remains.
And congrats on making head M.E.
You must be kicking
some autopsy ass in D.C.
(DOOR OPENS)
- (DOOR CLOSES)
- Head M.E.'s not a good thing?
What?
Yes. Yes, of course it is. Yeah.
It's just Mother.
She lives with me, you know, and
my promotion has made her feel as if,
well, our time in D.C.
is permanent, so, um
Truth be told, she doesn't
have many friends there.
Oh, Jethro, I meant to tell you,
I was so tickled
to receive your thank-you note
- for the ship-in-a-bottle.
- I'm building one now.
A ship in a bottle?
A boat in a shed.
- You're joking.
- Mm-mm.
Been able to work on it more
now that Diane is in L.A.
Diane is?
Is my wife.
- Your wife?
- Mm.
Blimey, that's
And you're building a boat for her?
Uh, no. I don't know.
Yeah, I don't know why I'm building it.
Why do you think I'm building it?
I've got it.
Look at that.
Appears to be some sort of black stone.
Uh, do you mind?
I'll get it to Woody.
Brilliant.
Oh, and if you hear
from Bernard and Cecilia,
do let me know. They found a map
amongst Moor's camping things,
and I sent them
to an old professor friend
- to have a look at it.
- Mm-hmm.
(CHUCKLES) Friend is
a strong word, actually.
He's more of an acquaintance.
But he is the most
knowledgeable chap I know
when it comes to Native antiquities.
- Mm.
- He actually has
an office on Camp Pendleton.
The base was built
on Native land, you know.
- Oh.
- Professor Edwin Wylde is his name,
and, mm, I dare say
I've not always enjoyed his company.
He wears an ascot religiously.
- (CLEARS THROAT)
- And, frankly speaking, Jethro,
the man never shuts up.
He loves to hear himself talk.
It's downright exasperating.
WYLDE: Dr. Mallard
told me all about your case.
More than I needed to know, actually.
The man loves to hear himself talk.
It's exasperating.
Ah, I got that
capybara at an estate sale
in Santiago de León de Caracas.
(CHUCKLES) It all started
when I was researching
Uh, sorry, Professor.
Can I jump in?
We don't have a ton of time.
What do you think about the map?
WYLDE: Ah, yes, the map. Well,
it's definitely old.
It's not very detailed,
but this "X"
here seems to indicate the location
of your buried skeleton.
So Moor follows a map
to an unmarked grave.
How does he end up dead?
I'm afraid that's beyond
my area of expertise.
How's your search coming along,
Agent Dominguez?
I can't seem to find anything in
here that matches the necklace.
Dr. Mallard was hoping it'd help us
get the remains back to Tango's tribe.
Well, I have seen jewelry like that
linked to the Payómkawichum,
but I'm afraid
Dr. Mallard was mistaken.
A few shells won't be enough
to convince the NAGPRA Commission.
Can I borrow this?
My tomes have a way of disappearing
if I don't label them. (CHUCKLES)
Years ago, I had a student who borrowed
an illuminated manuscript
I acquired on my sabbatical
in the Independent State
of Papua New Guinea,
which reminds me of a story.
Ah, it was
a beautiful morning, unseasonably warm.
WOODY: Yes,
that's why I'm calling, Francis!
Because when I go to use the bathroom,
I don't want the lobby door
locking behind me!
Get rid of
the fricking auto-lock, Francis!
(PHONE SLAMS)
Leroy Gibbs?
Yeah, we're ready to see you now.
No, leave it. You can
get it on your way out.
Gibbs, thanks for waiting. Come on in.
Everything all right?
Phone call sounded pretty intense.
Yeah, new auto-lock in the lobby
is giving me a case of lab rage.
Yeah, you spend all day in here,
by the time 8:00 rolls around,
you got a lot of
- unchecked anger.
- Yeah.
Anyway, how's the wife?
She's fine.
Yeah? None of those L.A. men
found their way into her bed yet?
No.
How do you know?
Okay, let's take a look here
at the bone fragment
we found in your
dead guy's stab wound here.
It's black obsidian.
And if you just want my two cents,
Diane's got to get hit on, what,
- eight to 12 times a day in L.A.?
- Minimum.
You know? But I don't see her
succumbing to the temptation.
What about the skeleton?
Uh, well, uh, Dr. Mallard
said this gentleman
died of blunt force trauma to the head,
likely during the Mexican-American War.
We dated the remains to
approximately 150 years old.
The black obsidian stone fragment,
the residue on it is also 150 years old,
which means your murder weapon
is probably something
that was buried along with the skeleton.
Mm.
He's not saying anything.
Yeah. He gets quiet when he's thinking.
It's like he's listening
to his gut or something.
You want to summarize it for him?
Yeah. So
Someone sees Moor
digging up the remains,
kills him with
a 150-year-old murder weapon
from the dig site, takes off with it.
Yeah, that.
Bye, Gibbs.
Thank God I'm not
socially awkward like he is.
- Could you imagine?
- (BOTH LAUGH)
(DOOR OPENS)
Hey, they give you anything in there?
Yeah. You want me to get
back down to the office
They gave you a file, huh?
You think I should make a special kind
of one of these for Ranger Rick?
I gotta get him
to drop the charges on Tango.
- Mm.
- (HIGH-PITCHED SCREAMING)
- (GLASS BREAKING)
- Aw
FRANKS: What the
Auto-lock.
Boss.
Let's go.
(CLATTERING AND THUMPING)
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
Yeah. Go.
♪
(PHIL SHOUTING)
Freeze!
FRANKS: What happened?
This guy tried to steal the skeleton,
and then Phil suppressed him.
- Where's the woman?
- What woman?
We heard a woman screaming.
That was me. I go into my upper register
whenever Phil lays down the boom.
He put up a fight, but, uh,
had a lot of pent-up lab rage.
Who the hell is he?
(GROANS)
(HANDCUFFS CLINKING)
Eugene Cooper. Do I have the emphasis
on the right syllable? Is it "EU-gene"
or "eu-GENE?"
- I go by Gene.
- RANDY: Gene.
- Even better.
- I like that.
Listen, Gene, I'm gonna
catch Agent Dominguez up
on what you did.
Stop me if I get anything wrong, okay?
- Okay.
- RANDY: Okay.
So he breaks into forensics and he
Through what, like the side door?
Yeah, and he tries
to steal the skeleton.
The one that's worth a ton of money?
Yeah, and then Phil karate-chops him.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
LALA: I'm picturing Phil like,
- ka-pow!
- No, he was like,
ka-pow!
- (BOTH LAUGHING)
- GENE: No, he was like,
hi-ya!
It's not funny, Gene.
You broke into a federal building.
Someone could've gotten hurt.
I did get hurt.
How'd you know we had the skeleton?
Police scanner.
I heard an M.E. stole remains
from a national park.
I know stuff about artifacts.
A Native M.E. in an area known
for Native American treasure?
I did the math.
Oh.
- He did the math.
- He did the math.
So, what was the plan, then?
Sell the skeleton to the highest bidder?
Pretty much.
You have another theory. I can tell.
- (CHUCKLES)
- Come on, what is it?
Gene sees Dennis Moor
digging up the bones.
- Okay.
- So he kills him
to take them for himself.
But before he can steal them, he hears
the youth rangers coming and he runs.
Right. And then, he breaks into our lab
- to finish what he started.
- What he started.
Now, hold-hold on.
I didn't kill anybody.
What were the UFO sounds
going on in the forest
when you were out there last night?
- I wasn't in the forest!
- LALA: Hey.
No need to get aggressive, Gene,
or I'm gonna have to give Phil a call.
I'm just kidding, man, you're safe here.
It's getting kind of silly in there.
It's the Bozo routine.
Works when the guy's a dumbass.
What's gonna convince Ranger Rick
to drop the charges more,
words or pictures?
If you want it to be good, you
should ask Mary Jo to help you.
Nah, this one's personal.
Tango's whole future is riding on this.
The order of information, the wording,
it all needs to be perfect.
That's why you should ask Mary Jo.
GENE: No, I'm telling you,
I was nowhere near the forest.
My-my neighbors can vouch for me.
- This guy's hiding something.
- Who?
The dumbass. Eugene Cooper.
RANDY: Okay, Gene,
we're gonna move you to another
room while we talk to your neighbors.
They're putting him in holding.
This is making my brain hurt.
Come on, probie,
let's go ask Mary Jo for help.
Mary Jo, meet me at my desk.
"How's your day, Mary Jo?"
Fine, thanks.
Dalton Basement got my
answering machine back for me.
That's great. Meet me at my desk.
Franks, Admiral Cane has called me twice
asking when he's getting his M.E. back.
Where is Dr. Mallard?
Ducky is "in the house,"
as they say.
Yes, I'm just acquainting myself
with Professor Wylde's book.
I can practically feel
his pompous self-importance
dripping off the pages.
What is all that?
A file to get Tango's charges dropped.
FRANKS: Mary Jo,
it's gotta project Tango's character.
Okay, breathe, baby. I got you.
DUCKY: Eureka.
I've found our murder weapon.
Well, a photo of what
I believe it to be, anyway.
The black obsidian blade.
It says here that
tribes of Southern California
were known to use it in battle.
So we'll just need
to confirm with Dr. Téngalkat
that it's Payómkawichum.
We'll have to wait till morning.
No, no, Admiral Cane is anxious
to have you back at your post.
- It's better to go now.
- Yeah, we can't.
Sanders rallied all the
corrections officers against us.
Visiting hours aren't till 10:00 a.m.
Wait, Joe Sanders?
He's still on the job?
I had a run-in with him
on a case in Mission Park
back when I was in the field.
Worst case of my life, thanks to him
and his godawful secretary.
I'm pretty sure that she hid
my evidence log in her beehive.
- She had big hair?
- Yeah.
Was her name Moira?
Yeah, Moira.
She's still working for him?
She's manning the desk
at the detention center now.
And her and this Sanders are
still thick as thieves?
Pretty much.
Why?
Moira! How are you, dear?
Lovely to see you again
on what I hope to be
a magnificent day for one and all.
Agent Sanders is out on patrol.
He told me to radio him
if there was any funny business.
Make sure he gets that,
will you, please?
It's important.
- And this is for you.
- For me?
It's a note.
From our secretary.
Right. I see that it's 9:57,
so we'll just make ourselves comfortable
for three more minutes.
Oh, your prisoner friend is
visiting with his mother.
Mama Téngalkat's here?
But it's not even 10:00 yet.
She seemed like a nice lady,
so I made an exception.
(SIGHS)
I look at you
and I see your father.
Stubborn as a mule.
Night before he died, he was still
making plans to get those remains back
to the reservation,
like there was any hope.
He would've been so proud of you, Temét.
But what kind of mother would I be
if I let you go down the same path?
Our ancestor deserves to come home, Ma.
This is a sacred fight.
This life you've built,
honoring all the dead
that's sacred, too, Temét.
You need to protect it.
(DOOR BUZZER SOUNDS)
Mama Téngalkat.
- (LAUGHS)
- Oh, Mikey.
- Oh, Mikey.
- FRANKS: Oh
Our Tish still loves you to death.
Still love her, too.
(TANGO CLEARS THROAT)
Ma, this is Dr. Mallard.
Ah, your Wednesday phone call.
Forgive me, I'm at a loss for words.
Your son has told me so many
wonderful stories about you,
I'm a bit starstruck.
Nonsense.
Come sit with us.
No, we gotta get back to it, we just
Oh, yes, yes, right. Uh
The black obsidian blade.
We're hoping to confirm
it's Payómkawichum.
It is.
I've seen ones like this
in many of our records.
Do you think it'll be enough
to convince the commission
to return the remains to us?
- I do.
- DUCKY: Wonderful.
If we can find this blade,
we'll get the remains a proper burial,
and likely solve our murder to boot.
What do you say,
shall we leave these good people
and embark on a little
obsidian blade-hunting?
DONNA: Edwin Wylde.
How do you know him?
Oh, yes. I had
the displeasure of meeting him
You know him, Mama?
He's an expert on Indian artifacts.
He also stops at nothing to hunt them
down and sell them.
He's made a fortune off our heirlooms.
Be careful of him.
And his partner, too.
A man named Eugene Cooper.
Knock, knock, Professor Wylde.
No, I'm Ned, I'm his TA.
- Can I help you with something?
- Where is he?
WYLDE: Donald Mallard.
Look at that. You let me
get two words in. Miraculous.
Hello, Edwin.
Still torturing that poor ascot, I see.
Ah. I could say the same thing
about your bow tie.
Okay, I ain't got time for you two
to be slapping each other
with your fancy gloves.
We caught your partner Eugene
trying to steal them remains
from our lab.
I don't know anyone by that name.
What about stealing heirlooms
from Native folks?
You know something about that?
Everything I have,
I've acquired legally.
I ain't talking about legal,
I'm talking about moral.
Listen here, Wylde,
you are gonna stand here
in front of God and Ned and
tell me every wrong you done
to every Indian Nation
from here to China
or we're gonna have ourselves a problem.
DUCKY: All right, Michael, come on.
Let's take him in
for questioning, shall we?
Ned, hand me a tissue, will you?
Last thing I needed was to be spat on
over some overvalued old bones.
(SCOFFS)
How dare you?
- Hey!
- (GRUNTS)
Those bones are not overvalued,
you ignorant toad!
I don't understand
what I'm doing in here.
I'm the victim.
The break-in at our lab.
(GROANS) How many times
do I have to tell you?
I had nothing to do with that.
How long have you and Eugene
Cooper been working together?
I don't know anyone by that name.
I have no idea who that is.
- Mm.
- (DOOR OPENS)
What's up, Wylde?
- Who's this?
- GENE: Oh, no use lying.
She pulled it out of me.
What? She's good.
RANDY: Following Lala's extracted
confession from Eugene Cooper,
Wylde admitted
they had a pre-established
(CLEARS THROAT) Excuse me.
A pre-existing business partnership
- Hold up, Randolf.
- where they mutually were
What's going on with you?
Are you trying to be serious?
Sir, there is no trying.
I am serious.
Okay, cut it out, you look like
you're about to pass a stone.
Okay, um
So, basically,
uh, what happened was after
we went to, uh, Professor Wylde
to ask about the map,
he sent his partner Eugene to try
to steal the remains from the lab.
So which one of them killed Moor?
Plot twist.
Neither.
Wylde and Cooper,
they had nothing to do
with the original dig
or Moor's murder.
I know, right? It's fricking nuts.
But Professor Wylde,
he did tell us that treasure hunters,
they usually work in pairs.
So our new theory is Moor
had a partner
that got greedy and he
(IMITATES SLASHING NOISE)
Sliced him with the obsidian blade.
- What?
- Oh, oh, oh.
We also figured out
Moor's map?
It's inaccurate.
- No.
- Yes.
It's from after the highway was built.
You can't tell anything
from it about the 1800s.
So that couldn't be how Moor figured out
where to dig for the skeleton.
Wylde, he just told us that
to buy himself more time
so he could steal it.
Then how did Moor know where to dig?
We're working on that now.
Stay tuned for the next update.
Randolf.
That was the most engaging sit-rep
I've experienced in a long time.
Newsletter be damned.
Keep doing what you're doing.
Copy, sir.
And, uh, send Dr. Mallard in, will you?
Admiral Cane wants an ETA on his return.
Oh, shoot.
I forgot to mention that part.
(GROANS) Uh, there was a kerfuffle
at the professor's office,
and his TA decided to press charges
against Dr. Mallard for assault.
Dr. Mallard assaulted a student?
- (CHUCKLING): No, no, no.
- Oh
Um, he really only
punched the professor.
The TA just got shoved in the kerfuffle,
but since the professor's
office is on base,
they sent Ducky to
federal holding to await bail.
What?
Pity they didn't have any tea, isn't it?
(CHUCKLES)
I never took you for
a hot-head, Dr. Mallard.
Neither did I.
But very much like you
and the so-called theft
that started this whole thing,
I wasn't thinking.
I just reacted.
I'm chalking it up
to a bit of "M.E. rage."
I chalk it up to you
being a hell of a friend.
Hey
we'll be out of here tomorrow.
And I know Franks is worried,
but neither one of us is getting fired
without a fight.
It's not that. I
I think if I was to get sacked,
a rather large part of me
would actually be relieved.
You don't want to be Chief M.E.?
I've been telling myself
that Mother is lonely in D.C.,
but the truth is,
she's incredibly social.
The woman's never at a loss
for a brunch invitation.
It's me who's alone.
And getting promoted makes
D.C. permanent for you.
Yes. Exactly.
America is my home now.
Doesn't exactly feel like home.
I never even bought a proper couch.
How can I commit to a whole life
in a place where I feel so alone?
Some sage advice?
Get a couch.
Really?
Is that bit of wisdom
passed down through generations?
It is, actually.
You build a home,
other people passing by see a light on,
they knock on the door
and ask to come inside.
And if they don't
here's to Wednesday nights.
Well, enough about my trials.
Here we are,
a pair of seasoned M.E.'s
with a 150-year-old case
of blunt force trauma
from the Mexican-American War,
and we have yet to discuss it.
- Blunt-force trauma?
- Yes,
the impacted skull.
Didn't you notice it?
Yes, but it wasn't blunt force
that caused it.
He was shot.
The musket ball was inside of the skull.
It must've fallen out
in the boot of your car.
That is how Moor and his partner
found the remains.
They didn't need a map.
The musket ball was metal.
Those UFO sounds
the youth rangers heard were from
a regular old metal detector.
Provided we use
this information to track down
the obsidian weapon,
we'll have the evidence
we need to convince
the commission to send
your ancestor's remains home
and the means
to arrest our killer.
Which leaves but one
lingering loose thread for us,
Dr. Téngalkat.
The question of our own fates.
You got my note?
Oh. Are you Mary Jo?
The one and only.
The file Agent Franks left on Dr. Tango?
I read it like you asked.
It was compelling.
Ranger Sanders?
People think he doesn't like
them for one reason or another.
Truth is, the man's
a life-long park ranger.
That amounts to years
of people poking fun,
years of being disrespected
by other agencies.
It was enough to turn us both
into a couple of hard-asses.
Honey, we know a little
something about being disrespected.
No one knows what the heck NIS even is,
and our office just made the
agency newsletter for the first time
in 20 years.
(CHUCKLES)
This thing with Dr. Tango
it all started with a whole group
of people being disrespected.
You've worked with Sanders a long time.
You work that long with a man,
I'm guessing he'd probably listen to you
about dropping Dr. Tango's charges.
I'll see what I can do.
Thank you.
Now,
there's another M.E. in for assault.
You think you can work that,
too? (SOFT CHUCKLE)
OLDER GIBBS: Ducky and
Tango both got a verbal warning.
But neither of them lost their jobs.
That Wednesday-night missed call
ended with them walking out
of the Mesa Federal Detention
Center like a couple of champs.
But they weren't the only ones
that got to go home.
The remains of Tango's ancestor
were returned to his tribe.
To us, it felt like at least one
thing in the world was set right.
To us, it felt like
- one sacred moment of peace.
- I wish ♪
I was homeward bound ♪
A moment none of us would ever forget.
(HAWK SCREECHES)
Home, where my love lies waiting ♪
Silently for me ♪
Now every day's an ♪
RANDY: Oh, bye, Ducky.
I love your nickname so much.
Until next time, young Jethro.
Oh. (CHUCKLES)
Before Ducky headed back to D.C.,
he told Lala I was building a boat.
That made her want
to see it for herself.
He probably thought
she knew me well enough
to answer my question about
why I was building it
in the first place.
It's nice to have one thing
that isn't going anywhere.
Home, where my thought's escaping ♪
Home, where my love lies waiting ♪
- Silently for me ♪
- (TELEPHONE RINGING)
This is Gibbs, leave a message.
(ANSWERING MACHINE BEEPS)
DIANE: Hey, it's Diane.
Darn it, it's been a day,
and I was really hoping
to talk to you tonight.
But I guess I missed you again.
OLDER GIBBS: "You build a home,
other people passing by
"see a light on,
they knock on the door, and ask
- to come inside."
- (BARKS)
That's what Tango said to Ducky.
Back then, I don't think I understood
what Tango meant by that.
But now, I do.
Far as I'm concerned,
if you're looking to build a home,
there's no better way to start
than with one thing
that isn't going anywhere.