NCIS: Origins (2024) s02e15 Episode Script
Johnny B. Goode
1
Agent Swanson, Mike Franks, NIS.
Josephine Swanson.
Due to adverse working
conditions, I request
I be paired with
someone other than Franks
for any future joint investigations.
LALA: Twitchy Tony is my CI.
FRANKS: Her and Tony got
that brother/sister thing going.
I thought about your offer, Flaco.
Much as I'd like
to put Luna away,
- I can't do it.
- FLACO: Luna capped
my cousin right in front of me.
His blood's on my hands.
But the people he kills tomorrow,
their blood's on yours.
LALA: Manuel Santiago.
Flaco's telling you
to keep on me?
FLACO:
What would your work guys think?
LALA: You are a model
citizen named Johnny.
Johnny's probably a big-time chef.
I like Manny better.
["JOHNNY B. GOODE"
BY CHUCK BERRY PLAYING]
OLDER GIBBS:
He drove a 1962 Chevy Impala,
four-door hardtop
in seafoam green.
Lala told us his name was Johnny,
but really, his name
was Manny Santiago.
Deep down in Louisiana
close to New Orleans ♪
And I'm pretty sure
she loved him.
Manny was the driver
for the head of
the 63rd Street Chacales,
Felipe "Flaco" Navarro.
Manny provided transportation
to and from whatever business
Flaco needed to attend to.
Go, go, go, Johnny, go, go ♪
Vamos.
[ENGINE STARTS]
Go, Johnny, go, go ♪
Sometimes, Flaco would bring
Manny in with him,
but if things
were gonna get ugly,
he'd have Manny wait in the car.
Johnny B. Goode ♪
Flaco knew Manny
had never killed anyone.
That was a line
Manny didn't want to cross.
Flaco respected the boundary.
[GUNSHOTS]
The two of them went way back.
Flaco was already rising through
the ranks of the Chacales at 16.
Go, go ♪
- Go, Johnny ♪
- When Manny's mom went to prison,
Flaco brought him into the fold.
Go.
Told him they could be brothers.
[TIRES SQUEALING]
Johnny B. Goode ♪
So, that's what they were.
[OVERLAPPING SHOUTING AND LAUGHTER]
Manny had other things
he wanted to be,
but once
you were in the Chacales,
the only way out was to die.
♪
So he held on to what he could.
His boundaries
and his manners.
Having Manny around
made it easier
for Flaco to have manners, too.
And that
meant something to Flaco.
Maybe it was a way
for him to hang on
to the last bit of his humanity.
Flaco didn't know that
Manny was going to church
to see Lala.
FLACO: You mentioned
you've been going to church.
I just wanted to support.
- Appreciate you, bro.
- FLACO: Try it on.
If it got out they were together,
Lala would lose her job.
And Manny, well,
brotherhood and manners aside,
Flaco would kill him.
And that
wasn't a figure of speech.
Go, Johnny, go. ♪
♪
It's getting too dangerous.
Do you want to stay in that life
or not?
No.
Then I'm gonna get you out.
LALA: You need to give
me something on Flaco.
I can't do that.
If he goes to prison,
the Chacales implode.
You'll be able to walk away.
You put him away,
he'll get the chair.
I can't be the reason he dies.
Listen to me, we'll never get
him on everything he's done.
We'll get him on one murder.
One murder in a gang war.
He'll go to prison,
but they won't sentence him to death.
You know he belongs behind bars.
- You don't get it.
- You said he was getting worse.
I know what I said.
It's not just a gang war anymore.
Innocent people are getting killed.
- You said that to me
- They are!
They are.
LALA: One murder.
Just give me the info on one hit
Flaco did that you were nowhere near.
Something that
can't be traced back to you.
Rico Luna.
Luna's dead?
The guy Flaco's been badgering me
to take down for months?
- Flaco got impatient.
- That can't be right.
We would've heard. Luna's
guys would be retaliating.
They think he's in Medellín on business.
It happened three days ago.
Luna called a meeting
to negotiate a truce,
just him and Flaco.
Where?
Fallbrook.
Abandoned construction site
off of Clancy Road.
By the pond.
[POUNDING ON DOOR]
RANDY: Lala, let me in!
I'm coming! It's Randy,
he's picking me up for work,
he probably wants coffee.
Just-just get in the bathroom.
I'll get him out quick.
Lala, open the frickin' door, dude.
[GROANS]
I'm out of coffee, let's go.
Move, I need to use the bathroom.
- No. No, no, no.
- PARSONS: What's all the ruckus?
I'm trying to watch my program.
I'm sorry, Mrs. Parsons.
We were just leaving.
Lala, no, I can't hold it
all the way to work.
No.
He's taking you to work?
So you're still not driving
since your horrible accident, huh?
[RANDY GRUNTING]
No, you can't go in there!
My toilet's broken!
- No!
- Sorry, I should've clarified,
it's only number one.
[ZIPPER OPENS]
[URINATING]
Whew! Your toilet
looks fine, by the way.
You know how clogged toilets,
they get that scary look?
Like the water's a little too high
and there's bits of toilet paper
floating around
like they're in some kind of
threatening snow globe?
There's none of that here.
I'm confident I can fix it.
No. No, no. There's no time.
- I-I got a tip on a case.
- [CLATTERING]
RANDY: Hang on, let me take a look.
Hey, no!
[TOILET FLUSHES]
- I fixed it.
- Okay, come on.
I got a tip about a
construction site in Fallbrook.
- [WATER RUNNING]
- We need to check it out, okay?
Hold your horses.
Cleanliness is next
- to godliness.
- Come on!
Are you mad 'cause I fixed
your toilet when you couldn't?
In the car, Bernard!
RANDY: Your bathroom smells
really good, by the way.
Did you get a new manly potpourri?
[DOOR CLOSES]
[SIGHS]
Probie and Mary Jo!
Good morning. You see the sun out there?
It is shining like nobody's business.
Looks like you and Gary Callahan
got some good cuddles in
over the weekend?
No, no, but I do got good news.
I believe the time has come.
I'm ready to take on
a new lady companion.
- Really?
- I mean,
I ain't never gonna get over Tish
the woman's the love of my
life but I'm pretty sure
I'm back to putting out my scent.
You know what I mean?
No.
[MARY JO LAUGHS]
I stopped at a gas station.
Lady was filling up her Camry.
She can't take her eyes off me.
You see, my body puts out a scent
when it's ready for female company.
The ladies can't resist it.
- I don't smell anything.
- Well, you're immune
'cause you're my best friend.
What about Lala?
Well,
she's immune 'cause she's half man.
Look alive, friends. We got a case.
Lala got an anonymous tip.
We need to check it out.
You got an anonymous tip
- at home?
- Mm-hmm.
Are you kidding me?
Did Gail forward the tip line
to your apartment again?
Gail!
Come on. Apparently,
there's something shady going on
at an abandoned
construction site in Fallbrook.
That's Fallbrook's case then.
No, tip said it's likely
Flaco Navarro's involved.
You think he's peddling drugs out there?
Fallbrook asked us to check it out
because we have a relationship with him.
When did you talk to Fallbrook?
RANDY: It was on the radio on
the ride in. Wasn't it more like
you told them you were gonna check
it out and they didn't give a crap?
Come on, let's go!
Franks, giddyap!
FRANKS: Rando, good news.
I am back to giving my scent out.
No way. That's phenomenal, boss!
We should get a piñata
or something to celebrate.
LALA: Tip said Flaco was
doing something near the pond.
Everybody, spread out, clear the place.
GIBBS: Randy and I'll
take the building over here.
LALA: I got twelve o'clock.
Clear!
Clear over here!
RANDY: Yeah, all here, too.
FRANKS: Dominguez, you got something?
Body!
Rando, call Tango.
- Copy.
- Take this for me.
FRANKS: You've seen this guy before?
- He a Chacale?
- No.
I think it's Rico Luna.
- Who?
- Rico Luna.
Him and Flaco are in a turf war.
If we can prove Flaco did this,
it could be our chance to put him away.
Flaco is practically a CI now.
Why would we want to put him away?
He's getting worse, expanding his war.
Innocent people are getting
caught in his crossfire.
That's the word on the street.
We need a positive ID
before we can do anything.
Check him for ID when Tango gets here.
I'm gonna sweep the area for evidence.
Probie, get Dominguez her camera.
You know, a couple months back,
I saw you looking at his picture.
Yeah,
I told you, it's Flaco's rival.
You got his picture,
you get a tip at home
telling us to come out here?
Lala, what is going on
- [GUNFIRE]
- Down!
[SHOUTS]
- [LAUGHTER]
- [TIRES SQUEALING]
Dominguez, probie!
You good?
Yeah.
- I'm good.
- Yeah, we're good!
You see who it was?
RANDY: Black El Camino, no plates.
FRANKS: The hell is going on out here?
LALA: We recovered the victim's
wallet and ID from his pocket.
- His name is Rico Luna.
- And the drive-by?
Black El Camino, no plates.
We didn't get a look at
the suspects inside.
Odds are,
they were soldiers of Flaco Navarro.
Flaco and Luna are
in the middle of a turf war.
We believe Flaco's the one
that killed him.
Head of the Chacales, huh?
Reports from Operation Bandanna
said the guy's a real menace
and getting worse.
MARY JO: Cliff,
none of the agencies I called
want to give
your son an internship.
Tell me you're joking.
I'm not joking, Cliff.
Unfortunately, his grades
and whatever is on his record
with the chicken cutlet is
All right, fine.
- Who else can we call?
- Sir?
MARY JO: Let me think about it.
Sir, if we can prove Flaco
is responsible for killing Luna,
we can cut off the head of the Chacales.
They'll implode.
Far as the drive-by, we think Flaco
was tipped off that we were there.
Possible he has a mole
that's playing both sides.
What? No,
we never said that.
MARY JO: What about an
internship with the game warden?
Can you imagine my son in nature?
Lala, someone on the inside
- called in the tip.
- I know what happened.
- MARY JO: bunnies.
- He doesn't like bunnies.
He doesn't like anything.
You know, yeah, fine
Theory is a mole
tipped you off about the body,
then he flipped and tipped
Flaco off that we were there.
Randy said it, Franks and me agreed.
- Well, I didn't.
- Okay, this is the kind of talk
that should've happened
before you walk in here.
Sir, Flaco is known
to have his people do rounds
at what he considers to be hot spots.
I believe that's how
the drive-by came about.
It had nothing to do with the tipster.
Okay, sounds like
you were doing your homework
while the boys were
standing around theorizing.
Good work, Dominguez.
Thank you, sir. If you'll excuse me,
I have some more film to develop.
WHEELER: Gibbs, last one out
takes the crap with them.
Come on, you know that.
And you should listen to her
more if you want to get ahead.
Flaco still has guys doing
rounds at hot spots, right?
I mean,
no one told him to send them?
What, you think
I told him you'd be there?
No. Of course not.
FRANKS: What do you mean,
something's going on with her?
- Something's up with Mary Jo?
- No, Dominguez.
You mean she's shook up
'cause we got shot at?
No, it's like she knows too much.
And she's really serious.
MANNY: He's got guys
doing rounds all the time.
- In a black El Camino?
- Could be.
They swap out patrol cars
to avoid getting ID'd.
Did somebody fire at you?
I'm fine.
- Did they fire at you?
- I said I'm fine.
- FRANKS: You mean she's doing her job.
- What's he saying?
Dominguez is being
serious and doing her job.
Maybe it's just residual
from her toilet this morning.
Flaco's guys saw us there.
I don't want you anywhere
near him when we pick him up.
You need to leave town.
Tell him
you have a family emergency.
He knows he's the only family I got.
RANDY: Her toilet was broken
this morning, and I fixed it,
and I think she was upset
she couldn't do it herself.
She's probably just
trying to prove herself now
to make up for it. Ask him.
- GIBBS: What's he saying?
- Uh, her toilet's busted
and she's humiliated
'cause she couldn't fix it.
I don't understand what
that has to do with anything.
I can tell him that I need
to get the Impala fixed.
There's a scratch on the side.
He knows the only guy
I trust with it
is across the border.
Listen, you know that Johnny guy
- Lala's seeing?
- Hello, Agent Randolf.
Agent Swanson.
- I think maybe
- All right, gotta go.
- FBI Swanson just showed up.
- Boss, hey
Agent Franks.
FBI got the report that
- Rico Luna is dead.
- You're in on this case?
Luna's been amassing
a large fleet of trucks.
Because of his past history,
FBI has been tracking him
for months to determine
if there's
some sort of criminal component
to whatever it is he's using them for.
It's preventative.
- You're in on this case now?
- Both Director Harlan
and your Agent Wheeler approved
a joint investigation.
The hell are you talking to him for?
Agent Randolf's my point of contact.
If you recall,
the tirades you directed at me last time
forced me to request
we weren't paired again.
- [GROANS]
- It's okay, boss,
- I'm happy to do it.
- I don't care if you're
Skippy Glad-Pants. I'm
the one who's in charge here.
We're ready to entertain you now.
Hey, Agent Swanson,
the most beloved FBI agent
in the land. What're you here on?
- She's with me.
- That's sensational. Come on in.
Uh, Swanson, what were you
talking about with them trucks?
I told you, it's preventative.
You ain't got to cop an attitude,
I was asking a question.
If you have any questions for me,
you can go through Agent Randolf.
Swanson, the most beloved
FBI agent in the land.
Good to see you.
Chief, what've we got on Luna?
Ah, state of decomposition
puts the time of death
at three to four days ago.
Cause of death was the
execution-style gunshot wound
to the head. Bullet was a 9mm.
It's already off to Forensics.
There's no sign of a struggle
except for some bruising
on the soft palate.
- Inside his mouth?
- Yeah,
you can see
it was pretty severe.
Should we talk stomach contents?
TANGO: Go for it.
Guy had a hell of a last meal.
Steak, potatoes, the whole nine.
But I found
this was lodged in his sphincter.
Ew.
Not that sphincter,
the one that leads into the stomach.
A button, huh?
Some kind of gang signature?
No, that plus the bruising,
he clearly was gagged with
a shirt before he was shot,
- swallowed one of the buttons.
- You don't know that.
Buttons could be a signature
referring to someone's name.
[CHUCKLES] Are you
tracking someone in the Chacales
- that goes by "Buttons"?
- Not yet.
Okay, you both sound right to me.
I'm just gonna get this
couriered over to Forensics.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
I'll get authorization to dredge
the pond near the crime scene.
It's possible some evidence
was dumped in there.
Dr. Tango, may I use your phone?
Course. And the politeness
is appreciated, as always.
LALA: Don't leave your
place till you hear from me.
MANNY: I won't.
[SIGHS]
The hell are you doing?
What? I'm developing my pic
An "anonymous tip" that
just happens to lead you
straight to Rico Luna's body?
You're surprised he's dead?
This Johnny guy
that you've been banging,
please tell me he is not Flaco's driver.
Oh, my frickin' God.
Listen to me.
You're the only person
that knows right now.
Are you kidding me? Roy is the
one who put all of this together.
He told me what you were doing,
and I told him you would
never do something so idiotic,
and then he followed me down here.
He followed you?
Like a dog with a bone, he's standing
- Mm.
- The Johnny
you are seeing is Manuel Santiago.
- [SHUSHING]
- The tip came from him!
I don't care who hears me!
Answer me!
Yes.
VERA: You've been walking
around lying to us both,
and you only bothered
to change two letters
- in the guy's name?
- He's not like the rest of them.
Lala, you are risking your entire career
for some gangbanger,
maybe even your life.
He's not like the rest of them, okay?
When he gets out, it'll be different.
Oh, my God.
You are in love with this dude?
This doesn't change anything.
Flaco needs to be put away.
We need to work this case
like any other case.
It's not like any other case.
I got a tip,
we're following the evidence.
- It's not like any other case.
- Everything is above board!
You crossed a line!
You're gonna talk to me
about crossing lines?
VERA: Whoa, what did Gibbs ever do?
He's a frickin' Boy Scout.
You know what? Never mind.
This weirdness between
the two of you, I will never understand,
but I do know one thing: This is one of
the dumbest things
that you have ever done,
and I'm not letting you sit in it alone.
So just
Just tell us how to help you.
Right, Gibbs?
Go and tell Franks, then.
Do what you got to do.
[INDISTINCT POLICE RADIO CHATTER]
The button from Luna's stomach
is with your Forensics.
Possible Flaco
tossed the shirt in there.
Mm-hmm. FBI has references
of Flaco's guys driving an El Camino,
but nothing concrete.
Reports we have most often
put Flaco with a driver
in a light green Impala.
El Camino's tied to the drive-by.
We should focus on that.
I'll put Agent Strickland
on it, see if that's enough
to get us a warrant
to search Flaco's place.
SWANSON: We should try and
do it while it's quiet. Chatter says
Luna's people think
he went to Medellín on business.
Copy.
Agent Swanson, I'll be right
over here if you need anything.
I'm good with Dominguez, thanks.
She's not an ass like Franks.
Copy that.
Rando, Luna's body was found over here.
I know. I was there, remember?
Yeah, I know. I just
didn't want to give Swanson
the satisfaction of knowing
I heard her call me an ass.
Listen up. I had Wheeler
look into it, and this, uh,
thing with Luna amassing
a fleet of trucks,
well, it wasn't even Swanson's case.
She stole the case from
that agent named Fornell.
She sought it out.
You know what that means.
No, I-I don't know
what that means, boss.
- GIBBS: Hey, boss!
- It means she sought out
the Luna case so she could be near me.
I think she's got a thing for me.
Randy, can you give us a minute, please?
- Mm-hmm.
- No,
that's why she's being so nasty.
She's trying to resist
my scent, but she can't.
Boss, it's about Lala.
- I need to
- No, but your scent would've had
to travel all the way down the highway
to the FBI to get her
to seek out this case.
It is extremely far-reaching.
- Boss!
- [CHUCKLES] What, probie?
Nothing.
SWANSON: Got something!
What've we got?
Dredge just pulled all these up
from the east side of the pond.
- LALA: Damn.
- Man, Flaco's been busy.
Well, we don't know they're all his.
FBI puts Flaco's guys in an El Camino.
Now we got this? Vera's getting
a search warrant for his place.
We should bring him in.
That ain't enough for a warrant
or to question him.
It's worth a shot.
Maybe we can get him to slip up.
You think a guy like that's
gonna come in willingly?
If we ask nice, it'd be rude to say no.
Flaco's got manners.
Plus, he loves attention.
FLACO: ¿Qué pasa,
Naval Investigative Service?
MARY JO: Felipe Navarro?
FLACO: That's me, mama.
Flaco to the people. How'd you know?
Baby, I've printed out your photo
more times than I can count.
[LAUGHS] Just about in love with you.
You got plans later?
Sign here.
Your girl's waiting on you.
LALA: Appreciate you coming in.
Have a seat.
Don't mind if I do.
There we go.
Now
how can I help y'all?
You heard Rico Luna's dead?
What?
No, man. What?
That's dark, man.
You didn't know?
Nah, mama, I'm
I'm in shock over here.
What happened, did he
slip and fall? You know,
back when we rolled, dude was a klutz.
He was shot in the head.
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
That's the thing about Luna.
He was a klutz and a terrible person.
So, it had to be one of those
two that got him got, right?
My guess, it's the latter.
He was trying to cut into your turf.
I mean
you told me he killed your cousin.
FLACO: I got my reasons
for wanting Luna dead.
But I learned
to let go of that anger.
Otherwise, it eats you up inside,
you know what I'm saying?
It ain't like
I came to someone and asked them
to take him down for me. It ain't like
anybody would ever
entertain that anyways, right?
You had your guys
drive by the crime scene.
We connected the car to you.
- [SNAPS FINGERS]
- See,
now I know you're playing with me.
You think I know where Luna got lit up?
Come on, now.
I thought he fell.
You remember how surprised I was?
We found six weapons out there.
Just got word we pulled three more.
Well, unfortunately,
I have no clue what you're referring to.
But I gotta say,
you look ethereal in this light.
[SCOFFS]
I was hoping to pump him
for info on Luna's trucks,
but he's just here to play games.
So them trucks, they weren't
really your case until today, huh?
[FLACO AND LALA CHATTING INDISTINCTLY]
[SCOFFS] My father was FBI
when airplane hijackings
were at their height.
He championed the idea of thwarting them
instead of reacting after they happened.
He saved lives with preventative action.
I didn't think Agent Fornell
was giving enough
attention to the Luna case,
so I requested to take over.
I thought maybe I could
figure out what's going on,
stop something catastrophic.
Preventative action. My father's legacy.
LALA: This is how turf
wars get out of hand.
So you asked to come over here.
Is he trying to make
some kind of a point?
What? No, it's probably
nothing worth getting into.
Oh, look, it's Vera. Hi, Vera.
- Hey. I got the, uh, warrant
- Hey.
to search Flaco's apartment.
The hell'd you manage that?
I excel at my job, Mike.
I think we should also try
getting a warrant for his hideout,
since that's where he hangs
with his guys most of the time.
We're going to the hideout,
we're gonna need a plan.
Last time got dicey,
Rando almost got shot.
We're gonna need at least
You mind keeping it down?
I'm trying to watch.
FLACO: I want to help you,
but that ain't none of my business.
But this has been
entertaining though.
Hey, where's, uh, where's Roy?
I got to check in with him
before we head to Flaco's.
He still hasn't come back
from the crime scene.
He must've made a stop along the way.
[SIGHS]
LALA: You wanted him out,
you wanted his business.
FLACO: I'm done here, mama.
♪
[POUNDING ON DOOR]
Put it down.
We need to talk.
[DOOR CLOSES]
Why are you letting her do this?
- Who we talking about?
- I know what's going on
with you and her.
She's doing this for you.
Why are you letting her?
I'm not letting her do anything.
She decides she wants to do something,
there's no stopping her.
- That's how she is.
- Don't you tell me how she is.
If you don't know that about her,
then you don't know her at all.
You want to know what I think?
I think this whole thing
that you got going with her is a lie.
I think that you want
to head up the Chacales,
and you are using her to get there.
I'm gonna tell you this once.
Get your hands off me.
You played her.
That's gonna come at a cost.
We found nine weapons
in that pond out there.
We know that they're Flaco's,
we know that you ride with him.
That means multiple investigations.
I'm not stopping till I draw a line
from one of those weapons
to some dead body to you.
Get out of my house.
[DOOR CLOSES]
[LINE RINGING]
AUNTIE: ¿Oigo?
- Tía, where's Flaco at?
- What do you need?
Tell him to meet me at the hideout.
I need to talk to him.
A Fed showed up at my place.
[HANGS UP RECEIVER]
[BEEPING]
Ooh, Mary Jo.
- You got a minute?
- Not really.
I got about 50 places
to send Jason's résumé.
Even the game warden
rejected him for an internship.
At this rate,
he's not getting into college.
You mean Wheeler's kid?
Isn't that outside your work duties?
Honey, 85% of what I do here
- is outside my work duties.
- Right. Okay, I'll be quick then.
Big news on Franks and Agent Swanson.
Franks is saying she asked on the case
'cause the scent he's putting out
is making her have
the hots for him, but really,
she's just here 'cause her FBI dad
has a legacy of preventing stuff.
Bottom line, Swanson can't stand Franks.
It's actually him
that has the hots for her.
Randy?
- Mind my business?
- That's right.
- Copy that.
- FRANKS: Rando, with me.
I talked to Vera.
She said Flaco wasn't home
when she went searching for evidence.
She seized a portable safe,
more weapons.
Also said she got a bunch of shirts.
She thinks one of them might match
the button from Luna's stomach?
Yeah, but it's a bit of a stretch,
don't you think?
You think Flaco's
gonna gag a guy with his shirt,
take it home and then
put it back in his closet?
So you think Luna was gagged now?
Course he was gagged. There was bruises
- on the top of his mouth.
- But you said
you thought there
was a guy named "Buttons."
I don't know why I said that, Rando.
Swanson was all over me.
It just came out.
Probie, where the hell you been?
You missed Flaco coming in.
Yeah, but all we got from him
was a very well-mannered runaround.
Where's Lala?
You still harping on her
broken-toilet attitude?
Let it go, she's doing her job.
She's at Forensics with Vera.
Well, ladies, I finished
going through Flaco's shirts,
and one thing's for certain.
I am totally inspired to revamp
my entire fall wardrobe.
What about the button, Woody?
It didn't come
from any of these beauties.
I mean, realistically,
even if you did find the shirt,
it'd be tough to prove
that Flaco was the one
that shoved it in Luna's mouth.
I mean, someday,
DNA technology may get to a point
where we can use it
to prove that someone
touched something or handled
something in a way that
Okay, okay. We don't have time to listen
to your science fiction stuff right now.
We got bigger things going on.
Oh, do you mean like woman stuff?
No, Woody, she was referring
to the magnitude of the case.
My apologies.
Our jobs don't normally have us
interacting with
two female agents at once.
These MAC-10s were at Flaco's apartment?
VERA: Yeah,
you should've seen the place.
It was like
"gangster meets anal-retentive."
Well, any one of these could've
been set to semiautomatic
to fire a single
9mm round into Luna's head,
but that's not what happened.
Yeah, striations didn't
match your bullet.
[GRINDER WHIRRING]
What about the weapons from the pond?
Those are over here. You can follow me.
Phil's firing up the angle grinder.
He's trying to bust into the safe
you guys brought over from Flaco's.
So, six of the guns
we found in the pond were 9mm.
Any of them our murder weapon?
No idea, but if Flaco is the one
who's been using the pond
as a dumping ground,
he's actually pretty clever.
He's been filing
the inside of the barrels
so we can't run ballistics.
VERA: Why would you lead us over here
- only to show us nothing?
- I don't know,
seemed like a good idea at the time.
- Guys!
- [GRINDER STOPS]
It doesn't matter.
Flaco had three MAC-10s at his place.
Weapons Control Act.
Weapons Control Act makes owning
an unregistered assault weapon a felony.
We can put him away for three years.
Actually, you can't.
He's got the registration for the
MAC-10s right here in his safe.
Gangster meets anal-retentive.
WOODY: Flaco's been getting away
with stuff like this for years, man.
That guy's a pro.
[LINE RINGING]
- It's Manny, leave a message.
- [BEEPS]
Manny, are you there?
Pick up.
[RINGS]
Manny?
GIBBS: Lala, it's me.
- Gibbs?
- I just
- I
- Where are you?
At home.
I wanted to see if you're okay.
What's wrong?
Manny was supposed to stay home.
I'm calling,
but he's not picking up.
I'm worried.
I I don't know. Um
I'm gonna try him
once more and then
I'm gonna head over, okay?
I got to go.
Lala, wait.
I went to his place.
You talked to him?
What did you say to him?
I know how you feel about him, Lala,
but I think he's using you
to take down Flaco so he
can be head of the Chacales.
What did you say to him?
I told him we found a bunch of weapons.
I said that we knew
that they were Flaco's.
But we can't even prove that!
I'm telling you, he was scared.
I said that we were gonna open up
multiple investigations,
and something was gonna
lead back to him.
He couldn't even look at me.
Multiple investigations?
You made him think Flaco's
gonna get the death penalty.
What does that matter?
He cares about Flaco
like he's a brother.
He doesn't want him to die.
I'm telling you,
he's playing you.
- Lala
- Oh, God.
- Lala!
- [DIAL TONE]
Mrs. Parsons!
I need to borrow your car!
It's an emergency!
Cecilia, what's going on?
- I need to borrow your car.
- I thought you weren't driving
- because of your accident.
- I'll bring it back.
Be careful, dear!
Did he say when he was gonna be here?
I gave him the message.
He keeps his own time, you know that.
- What's going on with you?
- [DOG BARKING]
Hermano, you okay?
- I'm good.
- You good?
I'm good.
What's this I'm hearing about
the Feds coming to see you?
I thought you was out fixing your ride.
I saw it outside. It's still
got that scratch on it.
[MONEY SHUFFLING]
[DOOR CLOSES]
The Feds are on to you.
They found all these guns in the pond.
If they pin all that on you,
you'll get the chair.
How do you know that, bro?
I told you.
A Fed Gibbs came to see me.
[SCOFFS] Gibbs, huh?
What business does he have with you?
[HORN BLARING]
[ENGINE REVVING]
You know, after I got your message,
a couple things started clicking
in my head.
You know what I'm saying?
I asked around, and I found
a very interesting fact.
That church you've been going to
that's the same one we trailed
Special Agent Lala to.
I am trying to help you.
You need to leave town.
I'm trying to save your life.
Was she worth betraying me for?
Huh?
¡Dime!
She has nothing to do with this!
She's got nothing to do with this.
- I think I'll go ask her myself.
- Hey.
You leave her out of this.
You brought her into this.
You did that.
Now she got to get dealt with.
I am not playing with you.
[FLACO SCOFFS]
You told her too much, Manny.
She knows too much.
- You're not doing this.
- So let's go.
Do something.
Come on, killer!
You don't got it in you to shoot nobody,
let alone family!
[BARKING]
[BARKING CONTINUES]
I'm your family, not her,
not nobody else. Me.
She's got to go, man. She's done!
She's got to go!
- MANNY: Stop!
- [GUNSHOT]
♪
[MUFFLED DOG BARKING]
Drop it!
He was gonna come for you.
AUNTIE: [GASPS] No! No!
Stay still.
Oh, you're gonna save me now, mama?
♪
[MUFFLED CHATTER]
[MUFFLED DOG BARKING]
Lala? Lala, did you drive yourself here?
We found piles of cash inside the house,
but nothing to tie anyone to any crimes.
I mean, besides Flaco's driver
trying to kill him.
Looks like the Chacales officially
got themselves a mole, huh?
Gibbs said
another anonymous tip came in,
told you something was going on
down here.
MAN: Yeah, what's good, Manny?
What's good?
[OVERLAPPING SHOUTING]
MAN: What's good, homie?
- What's good, bro?
- Manny!
Hey! Hey!
- [CLAMORING, SHOUTING]
- Hey!
[SHOUTING CONTINUES]
MAN: You hear me, bro?!
You got me wrong.
I was trying to protect her.
I know.
I know that now.
[OVERLAPPING SHOUTING]
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
[SINGLE KNOCK]
Hey.
What's going on? Yeah,
I got here soon as I could,
but what everything okay? Are you
Are-are you okay?
Okay.
LALA: This is the button we
found in the victim's throat.
It just, uh, it just made me think
of all those hours we spent
playing poker for buttons,
and with your mom being a tailor and
you spending so much time in her shop,
just, um
I messed up bad, Tony.
I don't know how to make it right.
How did you [STAMMERS]
W-What did you get into, exactly?
I let people get too close.
I mean, the lines are there
for a reason.
And I just
Hell, I shouldn't even
be this close to you.
If you didn't let I mean
If you weren't like
a sister to me, then
how would you even know to
ask me about this button, huh?
- [LAUGHS]
- Yeah.
It doesn't matter.
This button
isn't gonna take us anywhere anyway.
I think it was just an excuse
to sit for a minute with someone
who wouldn't judge me.
Hey.
Yeah, if-if you want to know,
um, the design on it,
it's from an expensive brand
called "Fernando."
They sew fancy ones like that
on the ins on the in
the, uh, it's on the inseam,
and it don't even match the rest
of the buttons on the shirt,
but some guys, they like to sew it
up at the top of the collar,
just, you know, to look cool, I guess.
And the gold ones,
they're only on shirts
in the brown family.
You know, uh, chestnut or tan,
something like that.
- [BELL DINGING]
- LALA: I need the evidence box
from the Luna case.
Kowalski!
Easy, tiger, he's in the vault.
Hey, you hear the latest?
Flaco's still in critical condition.
Manny's downstairs in holding.
You gonna go see him?
- Uh
- [GRUNTING]
Uh, look, I love the initiative,
but Kowalski is seriously
gonna whip your ass.
Cecilia, I am talking to you.
Don't make me come back there.
- LALA: The shirt Flaco used
- Lala.
to gag Luna was in the brown family.
Dominguez, the hell
you doing back there?
[GASPS] It's a "Fernando."
Kowalski is gonna whip your ass.
The inseam tag
[INHALES, EXHALES SHARPLY]
there's a button missing.
Our button ripped off from here.
That the shirt Luna's dead body
was wearing?
Flaco used Luna's own shirt to gag him.
Why would he put it back on him, then?
Dignity for the dead.
Flaco's got manners.
Okay, that is
some stellar detective work,
- but that shirt doesn't prove anything.
- Case is a damn wash.
RANDY: Right,
Manny will do time for attempted murder,
Flaco will probably recover,
go back to heading up
the Chacales,
have Manny offed in prison.
FRANKS: That's what I said,
Rando, case is a wash.
Dominguez, get out from there.
Just 'cause Rando fixed
your toilet, that don't mean
you got to run around,
getting behind the wheel,
hopping over counters
just to prove yourself.
Come on.
Hey. Hey. You're back driving?
I-I didn't hear that. That's great.
Listen, I'm gonna use this
to get Flaco to leave Manny alone.
I just got to figure out how to spin it.
Well, I wouldn't worry too much
about the whole
"Manny getting offed in prison" thing.
Gibbs says he's handling it.
What do you mean,
"Gibbs is handling it"?
GIBBS: I pooled a lot of information.
I think it's in everyone's best interest
to put Manuel Santiago
into witness protection.
FBI can foot the bill, sir,
if you agree to sign off
as the arresting agency.
Why would we do that?
That makes zero sense.
You're advising that we treat
a crazed murderer to WITSEC?
Santiago isn't prone to violence.
He shot Flaco to prevent
- more bloodshed.
- Where you getting that from?
Him.
- [SCOFFS] Wow.
- WHEELER: I'm sorry,
I-I let you into my office
assuming you had
something intelligent to say.
- You can leave now.
- But sir
Get the hell out of my office, Gibbs!
You're embarrassing yourself.
["JOHNNY B. GOODE"
BY CHUCK BERRY PLAYING]
OLDER GIBBS: I left his office,
but I wasn't embarrassed.
And I didn't give up.
I reminded Swanson that whatever
Flaco knew about his rivals,
you could bet Manny knew, too.
I told her that Manny
could likely give her intel
on Luna's fleet of trucks,
which could still be in play,
even with Luna dead.
But she wasn't convinced
until I mentioned
her father's legacy
of preventative action.
I asked her what he would've
done in this situation.
She got the FBI to foot the bill
for Manny's witness protection.
And she got Wheeler
to sign off on it
by offering his son an internship
in the FBI mail room.
That was a suggestion by Mary Jo.
Like I told Wheeler,
I pooled a lot of information
to get this part done.
The other part was more delicate.
Vera convinced me that
she should be the one to go in.
Flaco knew me as a stand-up guy,
but she could be a wild card.
Flaco.
[HOARSE]: The hell are you?
So, here's what's up.
I know you used
Luna's own shirt to gag him.
And who the hell cares, right?
Thing is, this-this
newfangled DNA stuff?
It's really catching on.
It's not just science fiction.
And we are on the cusp
of being able to prove
you touched that shirt
and shoved it into Luna's mouth.
Who are you?
If you ever come at my girl Lala again,
I will make sure that that shirt
ends up in the hands of the smartest,
most advanced DNA experts in the world.
And I already got all my bases
covered on anything
you might be considering,
so you should just shut
your little brain off now, okay?
Oh, to answer your question,
I'm Special Agent
Vera Dolores Strickland, NIS.
I live at 627 Baker,
and I keep a sawed-off double-barrel
shotgun under my bed, so
drop by anytime.
[DOOR OPENS]
OLDER GIBBS: That night,
Vera closed the loopholes
while Swanson and team Franks
officially closed the case.
- It's been a real pleasure.
- Same.
OLDER GIBBS: Swanson thanked
Randy for the hospitality,
and promised to keep us posted
on those trucks
she was monitoring.
Agent Franks.
That's some surprisingly
pleasant cologne.
♪
- I ain't wearing none!
- Oh, no.
[LAUGHS]
OLDER GIBBS:
Swanson did what she promised.
She transferred Manny Santiago
to federal holding
[LOCK CLICKING]
and then
to witness protection.
He promised to send Lala
a postcard
once he got to wherever
they were sending him.
♪
Thank you.
OLDER GIBBS:
As for Manny's precious Impala,
it was put up for auction
by the government
to help offset the cost
of WITSEC.
It went for way more
than it was worth,
but the buyer was very motivated.
Like Manny said,
once she decided to do something,
there was no stopping her.
If you didn't know that
about her,
then you didn't know her at all.
Agent Swanson, Mike Franks, NIS.
Josephine Swanson.
Due to adverse working
conditions, I request
I be paired with
someone other than Franks
for any future joint investigations.
LALA: Twitchy Tony is my CI.
FRANKS: Her and Tony got
that brother/sister thing going.
I thought about your offer, Flaco.
Much as I'd like
to put Luna away,
- I can't do it.
- FLACO: Luna capped
my cousin right in front of me.
His blood's on my hands.
But the people he kills tomorrow,
their blood's on yours.
LALA: Manuel Santiago.
Flaco's telling you
to keep on me?
FLACO:
What would your work guys think?
LALA: You are a model
citizen named Johnny.
Johnny's probably a big-time chef.
I like Manny better.
["JOHNNY B. GOODE"
BY CHUCK BERRY PLAYING]
OLDER GIBBS:
He drove a 1962 Chevy Impala,
four-door hardtop
in seafoam green.
Lala told us his name was Johnny,
but really, his name
was Manny Santiago.
Deep down in Louisiana
close to New Orleans ♪
And I'm pretty sure
she loved him.
Manny was the driver
for the head of
the 63rd Street Chacales,
Felipe "Flaco" Navarro.
Manny provided transportation
to and from whatever business
Flaco needed to attend to.
Go, go, go, Johnny, go, go ♪
Vamos.
[ENGINE STARTS]
Go, Johnny, go, go ♪
Sometimes, Flaco would bring
Manny in with him,
but if things
were gonna get ugly,
he'd have Manny wait in the car.
Johnny B. Goode ♪
Flaco knew Manny
had never killed anyone.
That was a line
Manny didn't want to cross.
Flaco respected the boundary.
[GUNSHOTS]
The two of them went way back.
Flaco was already rising through
the ranks of the Chacales at 16.
Go, go ♪
- Go, Johnny ♪
- When Manny's mom went to prison,
Flaco brought him into the fold.
Go.
Told him they could be brothers.
[TIRES SQUEALING]
Johnny B. Goode ♪
So, that's what they were.
[OVERLAPPING SHOUTING AND LAUGHTER]
Manny had other things
he wanted to be,
but once
you were in the Chacales,
the only way out was to die.
♪
So he held on to what he could.
His boundaries
and his manners.
Having Manny around
made it easier
for Flaco to have manners, too.
And that
meant something to Flaco.
Maybe it was a way
for him to hang on
to the last bit of his humanity.
Flaco didn't know that
Manny was going to church
to see Lala.
FLACO: You mentioned
you've been going to church.
I just wanted to support.
- Appreciate you, bro.
- FLACO: Try it on.
If it got out they were together,
Lala would lose her job.
And Manny, well,
brotherhood and manners aside,
Flaco would kill him.
And that
wasn't a figure of speech.
Go, Johnny, go. ♪
♪
It's getting too dangerous.
Do you want to stay in that life
or not?
No.
Then I'm gonna get you out.
LALA: You need to give
me something on Flaco.
I can't do that.
If he goes to prison,
the Chacales implode.
You'll be able to walk away.
You put him away,
he'll get the chair.
I can't be the reason he dies.
Listen to me, we'll never get
him on everything he's done.
We'll get him on one murder.
One murder in a gang war.
He'll go to prison,
but they won't sentence him to death.
You know he belongs behind bars.
- You don't get it.
- You said he was getting worse.
I know what I said.
It's not just a gang war anymore.
Innocent people are getting killed.
- You said that to me
- They are!
They are.
LALA: One murder.
Just give me the info on one hit
Flaco did that you were nowhere near.
Something that
can't be traced back to you.
Rico Luna.
Luna's dead?
The guy Flaco's been badgering me
to take down for months?
- Flaco got impatient.
- That can't be right.
We would've heard. Luna's
guys would be retaliating.
They think he's in Medellín on business.
It happened three days ago.
Luna called a meeting
to negotiate a truce,
just him and Flaco.
Where?
Fallbrook.
Abandoned construction site
off of Clancy Road.
By the pond.
[POUNDING ON DOOR]
RANDY: Lala, let me in!
I'm coming! It's Randy,
he's picking me up for work,
he probably wants coffee.
Just-just get in the bathroom.
I'll get him out quick.
Lala, open the frickin' door, dude.
[GROANS]
I'm out of coffee, let's go.
Move, I need to use the bathroom.
- No. No, no, no.
- PARSONS: What's all the ruckus?
I'm trying to watch my program.
I'm sorry, Mrs. Parsons.
We were just leaving.
Lala, no, I can't hold it
all the way to work.
No.
He's taking you to work?
So you're still not driving
since your horrible accident, huh?
[RANDY GRUNTING]
No, you can't go in there!
My toilet's broken!
- No!
- Sorry, I should've clarified,
it's only number one.
[ZIPPER OPENS]
[URINATING]
Whew! Your toilet
looks fine, by the way.
You know how clogged toilets,
they get that scary look?
Like the water's a little too high
and there's bits of toilet paper
floating around
like they're in some kind of
threatening snow globe?
There's none of that here.
I'm confident I can fix it.
No. No, no. There's no time.
- I-I got a tip on a case.
- [CLATTERING]
RANDY: Hang on, let me take a look.
Hey, no!
[TOILET FLUSHES]
- I fixed it.
- Okay, come on.
I got a tip about a
construction site in Fallbrook.
- [WATER RUNNING]
- We need to check it out, okay?
Hold your horses.
Cleanliness is next
- to godliness.
- Come on!
Are you mad 'cause I fixed
your toilet when you couldn't?
In the car, Bernard!
RANDY: Your bathroom smells
really good, by the way.
Did you get a new manly potpourri?
[DOOR CLOSES]
[SIGHS]
Probie and Mary Jo!
Good morning. You see the sun out there?
It is shining like nobody's business.
Looks like you and Gary Callahan
got some good cuddles in
over the weekend?
No, no, but I do got good news.
I believe the time has come.
I'm ready to take on
a new lady companion.
- Really?
- I mean,
I ain't never gonna get over Tish
the woman's the love of my
life but I'm pretty sure
I'm back to putting out my scent.
You know what I mean?
No.
[MARY JO LAUGHS]
I stopped at a gas station.
Lady was filling up her Camry.
She can't take her eyes off me.
You see, my body puts out a scent
when it's ready for female company.
The ladies can't resist it.
- I don't smell anything.
- Well, you're immune
'cause you're my best friend.
What about Lala?
Well,
she's immune 'cause she's half man.
Look alive, friends. We got a case.
Lala got an anonymous tip.
We need to check it out.
You got an anonymous tip
- at home?
- Mm-hmm.
Are you kidding me?
Did Gail forward the tip line
to your apartment again?
Gail!
Come on. Apparently,
there's something shady going on
at an abandoned
construction site in Fallbrook.
That's Fallbrook's case then.
No, tip said it's likely
Flaco Navarro's involved.
You think he's peddling drugs out there?
Fallbrook asked us to check it out
because we have a relationship with him.
When did you talk to Fallbrook?
RANDY: It was on the radio on
the ride in. Wasn't it more like
you told them you were gonna check
it out and they didn't give a crap?
Come on, let's go!
Franks, giddyap!
FRANKS: Rando, good news.
I am back to giving my scent out.
No way. That's phenomenal, boss!
We should get a piñata
or something to celebrate.
LALA: Tip said Flaco was
doing something near the pond.
Everybody, spread out, clear the place.
GIBBS: Randy and I'll
take the building over here.
LALA: I got twelve o'clock.
Clear!
Clear over here!
RANDY: Yeah, all here, too.
FRANKS: Dominguez, you got something?
Body!
Rando, call Tango.
- Copy.
- Take this for me.
FRANKS: You've seen this guy before?
- He a Chacale?
- No.
I think it's Rico Luna.
- Who?
- Rico Luna.
Him and Flaco are in a turf war.
If we can prove Flaco did this,
it could be our chance to put him away.
Flaco is practically a CI now.
Why would we want to put him away?
He's getting worse, expanding his war.
Innocent people are getting
caught in his crossfire.
That's the word on the street.
We need a positive ID
before we can do anything.
Check him for ID when Tango gets here.
I'm gonna sweep the area for evidence.
Probie, get Dominguez her camera.
You know, a couple months back,
I saw you looking at his picture.
Yeah,
I told you, it's Flaco's rival.
You got his picture,
you get a tip at home
telling us to come out here?
Lala, what is going on
- [GUNFIRE]
- Down!
[SHOUTS]
- [LAUGHTER]
- [TIRES SQUEALING]
Dominguez, probie!
You good?
Yeah.
- I'm good.
- Yeah, we're good!
You see who it was?
RANDY: Black El Camino, no plates.
FRANKS: The hell is going on out here?
LALA: We recovered the victim's
wallet and ID from his pocket.
- His name is Rico Luna.
- And the drive-by?
Black El Camino, no plates.
We didn't get a look at
the suspects inside.
Odds are,
they were soldiers of Flaco Navarro.
Flaco and Luna are
in the middle of a turf war.
We believe Flaco's the one
that killed him.
Head of the Chacales, huh?
Reports from Operation Bandanna
said the guy's a real menace
and getting worse.
MARY JO: Cliff,
none of the agencies I called
want to give
your son an internship.
Tell me you're joking.
I'm not joking, Cliff.
Unfortunately, his grades
and whatever is on his record
with the chicken cutlet is
All right, fine.
- Who else can we call?
- Sir?
MARY JO: Let me think about it.
Sir, if we can prove Flaco
is responsible for killing Luna,
we can cut off the head of the Chacales.
They'll implode.
Far as the drive-by, we think Flaco
was tipped off that we were there.
Possible he has a mole
that's playing both sides.
What? No,
we never said that.
MARY JO: What about an
internship with the game warden?
Can you imagine my son in nature?
Lala, someone on the inside
- called in the tip.
- I know what happened.
- MARY JO: bunnies.
- He doesn't like bunnies.
He doesn't like anything.
You know, yeah, fine
Theory is a mole
tipped you off about the body,
then he flipped and tipped
Flaco off that we were there.
Randy said it, Franks and me agreed.
- Well, I didn't.
- Okay, this is the kind of talk
that should've happened
before you walk in here.
Sir, Flaco is known
to have his people do rounds
at what he considers to be hot spots.
I believe that's how
the drive-by came about.
It had nothing to do with the tipster.
Okay, sounds like
you were doing your homework
while the boys were
standing around theorizing.
Good work, Dominguez.
Thank you, sir. If you'll excuse me,
I have some more film to develop.
WHEELER: Gibbs, last one out
takes the crap with them.
Come on, you know that.
And you should listen to her
more if you want to get ahead.
Flaco still has guys doing
rounds at hot spots, right?
I mean,
no one told him to send them?
What, you think
I told him you'd be there?
No. Of course not.
FRANKS: What do you mean,
something's going on with her?
- Something's up with Mary Jo?
- No, Dominguez.
You mean she's shook up
'cause we got shot at?
No, it's like she knows too much.
And she's really serious.
MANNY: He's got guys
doing rounds all the time.
- In a black El Camino?
- Could be.
They swap out patrol cars
to avoid getting ID'd.
Did somebody fire at you?
I'm fine.
- Did they fire at you?
- I said I'm fine.
- FRANKS: You mean she's doing her job.
- What's he saying?
Dominguez is being
serious and doing her job.
Maybe it's just residual
from her toilet this morning.
Flaco's guys saw us there.
I don't want you anywhere
near him when we pick him up.
You need to leave town.
Tell him
you have a family emergency.
He knows he's the only family I got.
RANDY: Her toilet was broken
this morning, and I fixed it,
and I think she was upset
she couldn't do it herself.
She's probably just
trying to prove herself now
to make up for it. Ask him.
- GIBBS: What's he saying?
- Uh, her toilet's busted
and she's humiliated
'cause she couldn't fix it.
I don't understand what
that has to do with anything.
I can tell him that I need
to get the Impala fixed.
There's a scratch on the side.
He knows the only guy
I trust with it
is across the border.
Listen, you know that Johnny guy
- Lala's seeing?
- Hello, Agent Randolf.
Agent Swanson.
- I think maybe
- All right, gotta go.
- FBI Swanson just showed up.
- Boss, hey
Agent Franks.
FBI got the report that
- Rico Luna is dead.
- You're in on this case?
Luna's been amassing
a large fleet of trucks.
Because of his past history,
FBI has been tracking him
for months to determine
if there's
some sort of criminal component
to whatever it is he's using them for.
It's preventative.
- You're in on this case now?
- Both Director Harlan
and your Agent Wheeler approved
a joint investigation.
The hell are you talking to him for?
Agent Randolf's my point of contact.
If you recall,
the tirades you directed at me last time
forced me to request
we weren't paired again.
- [GROANS]
- It's okay, boss,
- I'm happy to do it.
- I don't care if you're
Skippy Glad-Pants. I'm
the one who's in charge here.
We're ready to entertain you now.
Hey, Agent Swanson,
the most beloved FBI agent
in the land. What're you here on?
- She's with me.
- That's sensational. Come on in.
Uh, Swanson, what were you
talking about with them trucks?
I told you, it's preventative.
You ain't got to cop an attitude,
I was asking a question.
If you have any questions for me,
you can go through Agent Randolf.
Swanson, the most beloved
FBI agent in the land.
Good to see you.
Chief, what've we got on Luna?
Ah, state of decomposition
puts the time of death
at three to four days ago.
Cause of death was the
execution-style gunshot wound
to the head. Bullet was a 9mm.
It's already off to Forensics.
There's no sign of a struggle
except for some bruising
on the soft palate.
- Inside his mouth?
- Yeah,
you can see
it was pretty severe.
Should we talk stomach contents?
TANGO: Go for it.
Guy had a hell of a last meal.
Steak, potatoes, the whole nine.
But I found
this was lodged in his sphincter.
Ew.
Not that sphincter,
the one that leads into the stomach.
A button, huh?
Some kind of gang signature?
No, that plus the bruising,
he clearly was gagged with
a shirt before he was shot,
- swallowed one of the buttons.
- You don't know that.
Buttons could be a signature
referring to someone's name.
[CHUCKLES] Are you
tracking someone in the Chacales
- that goes by "Buttons"?
- Not yet.
Okay, you both sound right to me.
I'm just gonna get this
couriered over to Forensics.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
I'll get authorization to dredge
the pond near the crime scene.
It's possible some evidence
was dumped in there.
Dr. Tango, may I use your phone?
Course. And the politeness
is appreciated, as always.
LALA: Don't leave your
place till you hear from me.
MANNY: I won't.
[SIGHS]
The hell are you doing?
What? I'm developing my pic
An "anonymous tip" that
just happens to lead you
straight to Rico Luna's body?
You're surprised he's dead?
This Johnny guy
that you've been banging,
please tell me he is not Flaco's driver.
Oh, my frickin' God.
Listen to me.
You're the only person
that knows right now.
Are you kidding me? Roy is the
one who put all of this together.
He told me what you were doing,
and I told him you would
never do something so idiotic,
and then he followed me down here.
He followed you?
Like a dog with a bone, he's standing
- Mm.
- The Johnny
you are seeing is Manuel Santiago.
- [SHUSHING]
- The tip came from him!
I don't care who hears me!
Answer me!
Yes.
VERA: You've been walking
around lying to us both,
and you only bothered
to change two letters
- in the guy's name?
- He's not like the rest of them.
Lala, you are risking your entire career
for some gangbanger,
maybe even your life.
He's not like the rest of them, okay?
When he gets out, it'll be different.
Oh, my God.
You are in love with this dude?
This doesn't change anything.
Flaco needs to be put away.
We need to work this case
like any other case.
It's not like any other case.
I got a tip,
we're following the evidence.
- It's not like any other case.
- Everything is above board!
You crossed a line!
You're gonna talk to me
about crossing lines?
VERA: Whoa, what did Gibbs ever do?
He's a frickin' Boy Scout.
You know what? Never mind.
This weirdness between
the two of you, I will never understand,
but I do know one thing: This is one of
the dumbest things
that you have ever done,
and I'm not letting you sit in it alone.
So just
Just tell us how to help you.
Right, Gibbs?
Go and tell Franks, then.
Do what you got to do.
[INDISTINCT POLICE RADIO CHATTER]
The button from Luna's stomach
is with your Forensics.
Possible Flaco
tossed the shirt in there.
Mm-hmm. FBI has references
of Flaco's guys driving an El Camino,
but nothing concrete.
Reports we have most often
put Flaco with a driver
in a light green Impala.
El Camino's tied to the drive-by.
We should focus on that.
I'll put Agent Strickland
on it, see if that's enough
to get us a warrant
to search Flaco's place.
SWANSON: We should try and
do it while it's quiet. Chatter says
Luna's people think
he went to Medellín on business.
Copy.
Agent Swanson, I'll be right
over here if you need anything.
I'm good with Dominguez, thanks.
She's not an ass like Franks.
Copy that.
Rando, Luna's body was found over here.
I know. I was there, remember?
Yeah, I know. I just
didn't want to give Swanson
the satisfaction of knowing
I heard her call me an ass.
Listen up. I had Wheeler
look into it, and this, uh,
thing with Luna amassing
a fleet of trucks,
well, it wasn't even Swanson's case.
She stole the case from
that agent named Fornell.
She sought it out.
You know what that means.
No, I-I don't know
what that means, boss.
- GIBBS: Hey, boss!
- It means she sought out
the Luna case so she could be near me.
I think she's got a thing for me.
Randy, can you give us a minute, please?
- Mm-hmm.
- No,
that's why she's being so nasty.
She's trying to resist
my scent, but she can't.
Boss, it's about Lala.
- I need to
- No, but your scent would've had
to travel all the way down the highway
to the FBI to get her
to seek out this case.
It is extremely far-reaching.
- Boss!
- [CHUCKLES] What, probie?
Nothing.
SWANSON: Got something!
What've we got?
Dredge just pulled all these up
from the east side of the pond.
- LALA: Damn.
- Man, Flaco's been busy.
Well, we don't know they're all his.
FBI puts Flaco's guys in an El Camino.
Now we got this? Vera's getting
a search warrant for his place.
We should bring him in.
That ain't enough for a warrant
or to question him.
It's worth a shot.
Maybe we can get him to slip up.
You think a guy like that's
gonna come in willingly?
If we ask nice, it'd be rude to say no.
Flaco's got manners.
Plus, he loves attention.
FLACO: ¿Qué pasa,
Naval Investigative Service?
MARY JO: Felipe Navarro?
FLACO: That's me, mama.
Flaco to the people. How'd you know?
Baby, I've printed out your photo
more times than I can count.
[LAUGHS] Just about in love with you.
You got plans later?
Sign here.
Your girl's waiting on you.
LALA: Appreciate you coming in.
Have a seat.
Don't mind if I do.
There we go.
Now
how can I help y'all?
You heard Rico Luna's dead?
What?
No, man. What?
That's dark, man.
You didn't know?
Nah, mama, I'm
I'm in shock over here.
What happened, did he
slip and fall? You know,
back when we rolled, dude was a klutz.
He was shot in the head.
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
That's the thing about Luna.
He was a klutz and a terrible person.
So, it had to be one of those
two that got him got, right?
My guess, it's the latter.
He was trying to cut into your turf.
I mean
you told me he killed your cousin.
FLACO: I got my reasons
for wanting Luna dead.
But I learned
to let go of that anger.
Otherwise, it eats you up inside,
you know what I'm saying?
It ain't like
I came to someone and asked them
to take him down for me. It ain't like
anybody would ever
entertain that anyways, right?
You had your guys
drive by the crime scene.
We connected the car to you.
- [SNAPS FINGERS]
- See,
now I know you're playing with me.
You think I know where Luna got lit up?
Come on, now.
I thought he fell.
You remember how surprised I was?
We found six weapons out there.
Just got word we pulled three more.
Well, unfortunately,
I have no clue what you're referring to.
But I gotta say,
you look ethereal in this light.
[SCOFFS]
I was hoping to pump him
for info on Luna's trucks,
but he's just here to play games.
So them trucks, they weren't
really your case until today, huh?
[FLACO AND LALA CHATTING INDISTINCTLY]
[SCOFFS] My father was FBI
when airplane hijackings
were at their height.
He championed the idea of thwarting them
instead of reacting after they happened.
He saved lives with preventative action.
I didn't think Agent Fornell
was giving enough
attention to the Luna case,
so I requested to take over.
I thought maybe I could
figure out what's going on,
stop something catastrophic.
Preventative action. My father's legacy.
LALA: This is how turf
wars get out of hand.
So you asked to come over here.
Is he trying to make
some kind of a point?
What? No, it's probably
nothing worth getting into.
Oh, look, it's Vera. Hi, Vera.
- Hey. I got the, uh, warrant
- Hey.
to search Flaco's apartment.
The hell'd you manage that?
I excel at my job, Mike.
I think we should also try
getting a warrant for his hideout,
since that's where he hangs
with his guys most of the time.
We're going to the hideout,
we're gonna need a plan.
Last time got dicey,
Rando almost got shot.
We're gonna need at least
You mind keeping it down?
I'm trying to watch.
FLACO: I want to help you,
but that ain't none of my business.
But this has been
entertaining though.
Hey, where's, uh, where's Roy?
I got to check in with him
before we head to Flaco's.
He still hasn't come back
from the crime scene.
He must've made a stop along the way.
[SIGHS]
LALA: You wanted him out,
you wanted his business.
FLACO: I'm done here, mama.
♪
[POUNDING ON DOOR]
Put it down.
We need to talk.
[DOOR CLOSES]
Why are you letting her do this?
- Who we talking about?
- I know what's going on
with you and her.
She's doing this for you.
Why are you letting her?
I'm not letting her do anything.
She decides she wants to do something,
there's no stopping her.
- That's how she is.
- Don't you tell me how she is.
If you don't know that about her,
then you don't know her at all.
You want to know what I think?
I think this whole thing
that you got going with her is a lie.
I think that you want
to head up the Chacales,
and you are using her to get there.
I'm gonna tell you this once.
Get your hands off me.
You played her.
That's gonna come at a cost.
We found nine weapons
in that pond out there.
We know that they're Flaco's,
we know that you ride with him.
That means multiple investigations.
I'm not stopping till I draw a line
from one of those weapons
to some dead body to you.
Get out of my house.
[DOOR CLOSES]
[LINE RINGING]
AUNTIE: ¿Oigo?
- Tía, where's Flaco at?
- What do you need?
Tell him to meet me at the hideout.
I need to talk to him.
A Fed showed up at my place.
[HANGS UP RECEIVER]
[BEEPING]
Ooh, Mary Jo.
- You got a minute?
- Not really.
I got about 50 places
to send Jason's résumé.
Even the game warden
rejected him for an internship.
At this rate,
he's not getting into college.
You mean Wheeler's kid?
Isn't that outside your work duties?
Honey, 85% of what I do here
- is outside my work duties.
- Right. Okay, I'll be quick then.
Big news on Franks and Agent Swanson.
Franks is saying she asked on the case
'cause the scent he's putting out
is making her have
the hots for him, but really,
she's just here 'cause her FBI dad
has a legacy of preventing stuff.
Bottom line, Swanson can't stand Franks.
It's actually him
that has the hots for her.
Randy?
- Mind my business?
- That's right.
- Copy that.
- FRANKS: Rando, with me.
I talked to Vera.
She said Flaco wasn't home
when she went searching for evidence.
She seized a portable safe,
more weapons.
Also said she got a bunch of shirts.
She thinks one of them might match
the button from Luna's stomach?
Yeah, but it's a bit of a stretch,
don't you think?
You think Flaco's
gonna gag a guy with his shirt,
take it home and then
put it back in his closet?
So you think Luna was gagged now?
Course he was gagged. There was bruises
- on the top of his mouth.
- But you said
you thought there
was a guy named "Buttons."
I don't know why I said that, Rando.
Swanson was all over me.
It just came out.
Probie, where the hell you been?
You missed Flaco coming in.
Yeah, but all we got from him
was a very well-mannered runaround.
Where's Lala?
You still harping on her
broken-toilet attitude?
Let it go, she's doing her job.
She's at Forensics with Vera.
Well, ladies, I finished
going through Flaco's shirts,
and one thing's for certain.
I am totally inspired to revamp
my entire fall wardrobe.
What about the button, Woody?
It didn't come
from any of these beauties.
I mean, realistically,
even if you did find the shirt,
it'd be tough to prove
that Flaco was the one
that shoved it in Luna's mouth.
I mean, someday,
DNA technology may get to a point
where we can use it
to prove that someone
touched something or handled
something in a way that
Okay, okay. We don't have time to listen
to your science fiction stuff right now.
We got bigger things going on.
Oh, do you mean like woman stuff?
No, Woody, she was referring
to the magnitude of the case.
My apologies.
Our jobs don't normally have us
interacting with
two female agents at once.
These MAC-10s were at Flaco's apartment?
VERA: Yeah,
you should've seen the place.
It was like
"gangster meets anal-retentive."
Well, any one of these could've
been set to semiautomatic
to fire a single
9mm round into Luna's head,
but that's not what happened.
Yeah, striations didn't
match your bullet.
[GRINDER WHIRRING]
What about the weapons from the pond?
Those are over here. You can follow me.
Phil's firing up the angle grinder.
He's trying to bust into the safe
you guys brought over from Flaco's.
So, six of the guns
we found in the pond were 9mm.
Any of them our murder weapon?
No idea, but if Flaco is the one
who's been using the pond
as a dumping ground,
he's actually pretty clever.
He's been filing
the inside of the barrels
so we can't run ballistics.
VERA: Why would you lead us over here
- only to show us nothing?
- I don't know,
seemed like a good idea at the time.
- Guys!
- [GRINDER STOPS]
It doesn't matter.
Flaco had three MAC-10s at his place.
Weapons Control Act.
Weapons Control Act makes owning
an unregistered assault weapon a felony.
We can put him away for three years.
Actually, you can't.
He's got the registration for the
MAC-10s right here in his safe.
Gangster meets anal-retentive.
WOODY: Flaco's been getting away
with stuff like this for years, man.
That guy's a pro.
[LINE RINGING]
- It's Manny, leave a message.
- [BEEPS]
Manny, are you there?
Pick up.
[RINGS]
Manny?
GIBBS: Lala, it's me.
- Gibbs?
- I just
- I
- Where are you?
At home.
I wanted to see if you're okay.
What's wrong?
Manny was supposed to stay home.
I'm calling,
but he's not picking up.
I'm worried.
I I don't know. Um
I'm gonna try him
once more and then
I'm gonna head over, okay?
I got to go.
Lala, wait.
I went to his place.
You talked to him?
What did you say to him?
I know how you feel about him, Lala,
but I think he's using you
to take down Flaco so he
can be head of the Chacales.
What did you say to him?
I told him we found a bunch of weapons.
I said that we knew
that they were Flaco's.
But we can't even prove that!
I'm telling you, he was scared.
I said that we were gonna open up
multiple investigations,
and something was gonna
lead back to him.
He couldn't even look at me.
Multiple investigations?
You made him think Flaco's
gonna get the death penalty.
What does that matter?
He cares about Flaco
like he's a brother.
He doesn't want him to die.
I'm telling you,
he's playing you.
- Lala
- Oh, God.
- Lala!
- [DIAL TONE]
Mrs. Parsons!
I need to borrow your car!
It's an emergency!
Cecilia, what's going on?
- I need to borrow your car.
- I thought you weren't driving
- because of your accident.
- I'll bring it back.
Be careful, dear!
Did he say when he was gonna be here?
I gave him the message.
He keeps his own time, you know that.
- What's going on with you?
- [DOG BARKING]
Hermano, you okay?
- I'm good.
- You good?
I'm good.
What's this I'm hearing about
the Feds coming to see you?
I thought you was out fixing your ride.
I saw it outside. It's still
got that scratch on it.
[MONEY SHUFFLING]
[DOOR CLOSES]
The Feds are on to you.
They found all these guns in the pond.
If they pin all that on you,
you'll get the chair.
How do you know that, bro?
I told you.
A Fed Gibbs came to see me.
[SCOFFS] Gibbs, huh?
What business does he have with you?
[HORN BLARING]
[ENGINE REVVING]
You know, after I got your message,
a couple things started clicking
in my head.
You know what I'm saying?
I asked around, and I found
a very interesting fact.
That church you've been going to
that's the same one we trailed
Special Agent Lala to.
I am trying to help you.
You need to leave town.
I'm trying to save your life.
Was she worth betraying me for?
Huh?
¡Dime!
She has nothing to do with this!
She's got nothing to do with this.
- I think I'll go ask her myself.
- Hey.
You leave her out of this.
You brought her into this.
You did that.
Now she got to get dealt with.
I am not playing with you.
[FLACO SCOFFS]
You told her too much, Manny.
She knows too much.
- You're not doing this.
- So let's go.
Do something.
Come on, killer!
You don't got it in you to shoot nobody,
let alone family!
[BARKING]
[BARKING CONTINUES]
I'm your family, not her,
not nobody else. Me.
She's got to go, man. She's done!
She's got to go!
- MANNY: Stop!
- [GUNSHOT]
♪
[MUFFLED DOG BARKING]
Drop it!
He was gonna come for you.
AUNTIE: [GASPS] No! No!
Stay still.
Oh, you're gonna save me now, mama?
♪
[MUFFLED CHATTER]
[MUFFLED DOG BARKING]
Lala? Lala, did you drive yourself here?
We found piles of cash inside the house,
but nothing to tie anyone to any crimes.
I mean, besides Flaco's driver
trying to kill him.
Looks like the Chacales officially
got themselves a mole, huh?
Gibbs said
another anonymous tip came in,
told you something was going on
down here.
MAN: Yeah, what's good, Manny?
What's good?
[OVERLAPPING SHOUTING]
MAN: What's good, homie?
- What's good, bro?
- Manny!
Hey! Hey!
- [CLAMORING, SHOUTING]
- Hey!
[SHOUTING CONTINUES]
MAN: You hear me, bro?!
You got me wrong.
I was trying to protect her.
I know.
I know that now.
[OVERLAPPING SHOUTING]
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
[SINGLE KNOCK]
Hey.
What's going on? Yeah,
I got here soon as I could,
but what everything okay? Are you
Are-are you okay?
Okay.
LALA: This is the button we
found in the victim's throat.
It just, uh, it just made me think
of all those hours we spent
playing poker for buttons,
and with your mom being a tailor and
you spending so much time in her shop,
just, um
I messed up bad, Tony.
I don't know how to make it right.
How did you [STAMMERS]
W-What did you get into, exactly?
I let people get too close.
I mean, the lines are there
for a reason.
And I just
Hell, I shouldn't even
be this close to you.
If you didn't let I mean
If you weren't like
a sister to me, then
how would you even know to
ask me about this button, huh?
- [LAUGHS]
- Yeah.
It doesn't matter.
This button
isn't gonna take us anywhere anyway.
I think it was just an excuse
to sit for a minute with someone
who wouldn't judge me.
Hey.
Yeah, if-if you want to know,
um, the design on it,
it's from an expensive brand
called "Fernando."
They sew fancy ones like that
on the ins on the in
the, uh, it's on the inseam,
and it don't even match the rest
of the buttons on the shirt,
but some guys, they like to sew it
up at the top of the collar,
just, you know, to look cool, I guess.
And the gold ones,
they're only on shirts
in the brown family.
You know, uh, chestnut or tan,
something like that.
- [BELL DINGING]
- LALA: I need the evidence box
from the Luna case.
Kowalski!
Easy, tiger, he's in the vault.
Hey, you hear the latest?
Flaco's still in critical condition.
Manny's downstairs in holding.
You gonna go see him?
- Uh
- [GRUNTING]
Uh, look, I love the initiative,
but Kowalski is seriously
gonna whip your ass.
Cecilia, I am talking to you.
Don't make me come back there.
- LALA: The shirt Flaco used
- Lala.
to gag Luna was in the brown family.
Dominguez, the hell
you doing back there?
[GASPS] It's a "Fernando."
Kowalski is gonna whip your ass.
The inseam tag
[INHALES, EXHALES SHARPLY]
there's a button missing.
Our button ripped off from here.
That the shirt Luna's dead body
was wearing?
Flaco used Luna's own shirt to gag him.
Why would he put it back on him, then?
Dignity for the dead.
Flaco's got manners.
Okay, that is
some stellar detective work,
- but that shirt doesn't prove anything.
- Case is a damn wash.
RANDY: Right,
Manny will do time for attempted murder,
Flaco will probably recover,
go back to heading up
the Chacales,
have Manny offed in prison.
FRANKS: That's what I said,
Rando, case is a wash.
Dominguez, get out from there.
Just 'cause Rando fixed
your toilet, that don't mean
you got to run around,
getting behind the wheel,
hopping over counters
just to prove yourself.
Come on.
Hey. Hey. You're back driving?
I-I didn't hear that. That's great.
Listen, I'm gonna use this
to get Flaco to leave Manny alone.
I just got to figure out how to spin it.
Well, I wouldn't worry too much
about the whole
"Manny getting offed in prison" thing.
Gibbs says he's handling it.
What do you mean,
"Gibbs is handling it"?
GIBBS: I pooled a lot of information.
I think it's in everyone's best interest
to put Manuel Santiago
into witness protection.
FBI can foot the bill, sir,
if you agree to sign off
as the arresting agency.
Why would we do that?
That makes zero sense.
You're advising that we treat
a crazed murderer to WITSEC?
Santiago isn't prone to violence.
He shot Flaco to prevent
- more bloodshed.
- Where you getting that from?
Him.
- [SCOFFS] Wow.
- WHEELER: I'm sorry,
I-I let you into my office
assuming you had
something intelligent to say.
- You can leave now.
- But sir
Get the hell out of my office, Gibbs!
You're embarrassing yourself.
["JOHNNY B. GOODE"
BY CHUCK BERRY PLAYING]
OLDER GIBBS: I left his office,
but I wasn't embarrassed.
And I didn't give up.
I reminded Swanson that whatever
Flaco knew about his rivals,
you could bet Manny knew, too.
I told her that Manny
could likely give her intel
on Luna's fleet of trucks,
which could still be in play,
even with Luna dead.
But she wasn't convinced
until I mentioned
her father's legacy
of preventative action.
I asked her what he would've
done in this situation.
She got the FBI to foot the bill
for Manny's witness protection.
And she got Wheeler
to sign off on it
by offering his son an internship
in the FBI mail room.
That was a suggestion by Mary Jo.
Like I told Wheeler,
I pooled a lot of information
to get this part done.
The other part was more delicate.
Vera convinced me that
she should be the one to go in.
Flaco knew me as a stand-up guy,
but she could be a wild card.
Flaco.
[HOARSE]: The hell are you?
So, here's what's up.
I know you used
Luna's own shirt to gag him.
And who the hell cares, right?
Thing is, this-this
newfangled DNA stuff?
It's really catching on.
It's not just science fiction.
And we are on the cusp
of being able to prove
you touched that shirt
and shoved it into Luna's mouth.
Who are you?
If you ever come at my girl Lala again,
I will make sure that that shirt
ends up in the hands of the smartest,
most advanced DNA experts in the world.
And I already got all my bases
covered on anything
you might be considering,
so you should just shut
your little brain off now, okay?
Oh, to answer your question,
I'm Special Agent
Vera Dolores Strickland, NIS.
I live at 627 Baker,
and I keep a sawed-off double-barrel
shotgun under my bed, so
drop by anytime.
[DOOR OPENS]
OLDER GIBBS: That night,
Vera closed the loopholes
while Swanson and team Franks
officially closed the case.
- It's been a real pleasure.
- Same.
OLDER GIBBS: Swanson thanked
Randy for the hospitality,
and promised to keep us posted
on those trucks
she was monitoring.
Agent Franks.
That's some surprisingly
pleasant cologne.
♪
- I ain't wearing none!
- Oh, no.
[LAUGHS]
OLDER GIBBS:
Swanson did what she promised.
She transferred Manny Santiago
to federal holding
[LOCK CLICKING]
and then
to witness protection.
He promised to send Lala
a postcard
once he got to wherever
they were sending him.
♪
Thank you.
OLDER GIBBS:
As for Manny's precious Impala,
it was put up for auction
by the government
to help offset the cost
of WITSEC.
It went for way more
than it was worth,
but the buyer was very motivated.
Like Manny said,
once she decided to do something,
there was no stopping her.
If you didn't know that
about her,
then you didn't know her at all.