NCIS: Origins (2024) s02e18 Episode Script

1
RANDY: Big news on Franks
and Agent Swanson.
Luna's been amassing
a large fleet of trucks.
So them trucks, they weren't really
your case until today, huh?
She's trying to resist my scent,
but she can't.
GIBBS:
This is where WITSEC put Manny?
- He shouldn't be contacting you.
- It's just a postcard.
You're gonna go cold turkey
on relationships, then, huh?
I'm done.
FRANKS: I went to see Abe.
He said he talked to you
on the phone.
He didn't want nothing, just to tell me
he was sorry
he couldn't save the land.
ABE: Look at me.
I am free.
OLDER GIBBS:
You work a job like this,
you've got to find an escape.
And I ♪
Sometimes, we would go
to the movies.
That night, the gals went
to the new one
EVERYONE WAS TALKING ABOUT:
The Bodyguard.
I ♪
Us guys were in the mood
for something
a little more hard-hitting,
so we checked out a special
screening of Reservoir Dogs.
Same movie house as the women,
different screen,
different world.
("LITTLE GREEN BAG" BY
GEORGE BAKER SELECTION PLAYING)
("I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU"
BY WHITNEY HOUSTON PLAYING)
OLDER GIBBS: They were
escaping to a place where
even if there were
bad guys with guns
a big, romantic ending
was possible.
- ("LITTLE GREEN BAG" PLAYING)
- We were escaping
to a place where at least
we didn't have it as bad
as the bloody end of Mr. Orange.
(PAGERS BUZZING)
But either way,
the escape never lasted.
- (PAGERS BUZZING)
- Sooner or later, the pagers
would go off.
Sooner or later, duty would call.
Looking back on the track
for a little green bag ♪
OLDER GIBBS: This particular
call came from a Marine
who was worried
about her two sons.
They were 14 and 16 years old.
Good boys who never showed up
to their soccer practice
that night.
Mary Jo went to work the phones.
Randy and Vera headed
to the mother's house.
Rest of us took off
to follow a tip
on where the boys were last seen.
We knew something was off
soon as we drove up.
♪
The place was off the grid.
Someone was hiding something.
Someone had murdered
our two missing boys.
Lot of thoughts go through your
head when you see something like that.
FRANKS: Son of a bitch.
OLDER GIBBS: Mostly,
you wonder how it's possible that,
ten minutes before,
you were sitting there,
eating popcorn.
(GUNSHOTS)
- (HIGH-PITCHED RINGING)
- FRANKS (MUFFLED): Down! Down!
GIBBS (MUFFLED): On the left!
♪
(GRUNT)
(CRYING OUT IN PAIN)
FRANKS: Six! Six!
He's going for the door!
Turn over and face the ground.
- Put your hands on your head.
- I got him.
This ain't your business, mama.
He's one of Flaco's guys.
(MAN GROANS)
He's one of the Chacales.
(MAN GROANING)
You're working for Flaco? Hmm?
You kill those kids?
(LAUGHING)
OLDER GIBBS:
Franks looked at these two boys.
He thought about all the laughs
they must've had,
all the fights,
all the games of catch.
He saw himself and his brother.
All we wanted
was a night to escape,
but for some things,
there is no way out.
(FRANKS SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY
OVER SPEAKER)
Boys were positively ID'd
as our missing kids.
Sean and William Caldwell.
14 and 16 years old.
Vera's notifying their mother.
Seems like you've been
popping up more and more
Uh, shooters were all confirmed
as Flaco's guys,
but word is he's out of town.
Business in Medellín.
What about the guy Franks hit?
Uh, the bullet,
it went through and through.
It hit a couple important things
along the way. He's in surgery,
so guy in the box is our
only line of communication.
- We got a name?
- (SIGHS)
Antonio Tapia. He goes by "T."
Them kids shouldn't have been in there.
- It's private property.
- FRANKS: They was unarmed.
They was children.
You could've just asked 'em to
leave instead of shooting 'em up.
I didn't shoot 'em.
- Then who did?
- TAPIA: Andrés.
One of the dudes y'all popped.
FRANKS: Pretty convenient, ain't it?
Guy who did the murdering's dead?
Well, it ain't too convenient for him.
LALA: So, we run ballistics,
it'll say that the gun
Andrés used to shoot at us
is the same one that killed those kids?
Look, all I know is, Sal said
Andrés killed the two kids
- before I got there.
- Who's Sal?
The other dude y'all popped.
Convenient.
What were y'all doing
in that warehouse, huh?
Flaco in the wine business now?
I don't know why I was there.
They told me to show up, I showed up.
- Who told you?
- The two dudes y'all popped.
Oh, dang, Franks about to go
killer cowboy on this guy.
He's gonna stand up
and start yelling about,
like, lassos and horse butts.
Watch, watch.
- Excuse me. I need you two upstairs.
- Give me a minute, Cliff.
FRANKS: I'll come get you
once we're through.
The hell is Wheeler doing in there?
He knows how Franks feels
about getting interrupted
- in there. It suppresses his dominance.
- Mike, I need you upstairs now.
How many times I got to tell you,
Cliff, you interrupt me in there,
- you're suppressing my dominance.
- Take a step back.
I don't care what you told me.
I'm giving you an order.
Now, get your ass upstairs.
All of you. Now.
My apologies for the force
with which
I gathered some of you here,
but I've been informed that
the restructure is officially underway.
What's that mean?
What are you telling us?
WHEELER: Admiral Cane will
no longer serve as director of NIS.
'Cause of the sex complaints?
Admiral Cane was getting some
in the handsy scandal?
No, JJ, he wasn't,
but the scandal did involve
military personnel
acting inappropriately,
so, in order to improve optics,
SECNAV is appointing
a civilian director.
Who they bringing in?
A gentleman from the Secret Service.
His name is Tom Morrow.
Tom Morrow?
Like "tomorrow"?
(LAUGHS) How is that his name?
Gail, please.
Could've just put this in a memo,
instead of pulling me
out of the box, Cliff.
- I'm gonna get me a yogurt.
- Mike, stop.
They are making wholesale changes.
The directive is that
all of Pendleton's cases
will be absorbed
into the San Diego office.
- (MURMURING)
- WHEELER: But because
our case-solve rate is so high,
Director Morrow is sending
all of our staff
and our agents
to different field offices.
- What?
- WHEELER: Uh, the hope is that
we will spread our best practices,
uh, across the agency.
They're splitting us up?
Um
This is our last week in this office.
- (GROANING)
- AGENT: Oh, come on.
- AGENT 2: Can't be serious.
- WHEELER: It's the last week
as a team.
- This week? This week?
- (MURMURING CONTINUES)
- I am so sorry.
- VERA: Where are we supposed to go?
I knew people were gonna be shocked.
I mean, I'm-I'm standing
in front of them,
telling them the office
is shutting down,
of course they're gonna
be shocked, but
the looks on their faces
They were crushed.
And they're looking to me.
Did you see that out there?
They're looking to me to stop this.
And I owe it to them to try.
Well, that's great, Cliff, but
I got a case to solve,
and what'd you say?
A week to get it done before they start
hauling out furniture?
You're not hearing me.
I am. Folks is looking at you
a certain way,
and now, you feel like
you want to access your balls.
Listen to me.
I'm gonna fight this shutdown,
and you are gonna help me.
No. You know I don't do stuff like that.
So you're just gonna stand by
and let them split up your team?
I ain't standing by. I'm solving a case.
I got a lying Chacale
and two dead sons of a Marine.
Don't look at me like that, Cliff.
You know I don't waste my time
with the bureaucratic BS,
- you know that about me.
- Now is the time for the exception.
No. That's why you're up here
in the big office.
Mike, I need you. You intimidate people
with your gravelly voice
and the way you walk.
And that's why I'm downstairs
in the dirt, solving cases.
All right, forget it,
just get out of here. Whatever.
Hey, you don't got
to get nasty about it.
Strickland. I need you in my office.
VERA (OVER INTERCOM):
Yes, sir. Be right there.
Hey. Said I don't like it
when you get nasty.
Mm-hmm.
My two victims, they was kids.
They was brothers, Cliff.
And I will be damned if this case
gets lost in the move to San Diego
instead of getting solved.
Then go solve it.
I said that three minutes ago.
Dammit, Franks.
Why you got to take up
so much space all the time?
Quit being nasty, Vera.
I got a case to solve.
- Strickland, get in here.
- Sir, I
Sorry to interrupt. I just
Are we gonna find a way
to save the office?
Or die trying.
RANDY:
Okay, we got Washington, D.C.
- Mm-hmm.
- We got Okinawa, Japan.
- We got Guantanamo Bay.
- Naples, Italy.
Oh. Flaco's wine's coming from Italy?
No, these are the other NIS offices
that we can be transferred to.
Put your eyes back in your head, probie,
we got a case to solve,
and you're wasting your time
- on this BS?
- RANDY: It's affecting our lives, boss.
We got two dead sons of a Marine mama.
That should be affecting y'all's lives.
You're right, boss.
Victims were brothers.
Sean and William Caldwell.
14 and 16 years old.
GIBBS: Their buddies
heard that there was wine
in the warehouse.
They dared the Caldwells
to break in and steal some.
That's what the milk jugs were for.
Thanks for helping me, boss.
So, the boys walk in,
they're shot on sight
for trespassing on Chacales territory.
We tracked the stamps on the barrels
to a small winery in Baja California.
RANDY: It's a super-rare premium wine.
Each barrel is worth upwards of 10K.
Whoever stole it is making
a killing off selling it.
What do you mean, "whoever"?
I thought this Flaco.
Yeah, we don't know how
the Chacales are involved.
Paper trail says the owner
of the warehouse is a guy
named Benjamin Hauser,
but it's all just a front.
Yeah, Benjamin Hauser doesn't exist.
Also, boss, question,
you know how I'm inputting
all the evidence logs
in the computer now?
- Yeah.
- You think I could use that as leverage
to request the Naples office?
Junie speaks Italian,
- so it'd probably be my top choice.
- Rando, don't make me slap you
upside the head like I done to Gibbs.
I don't want that becoming a thing.
Copy.
Dominguez. The guy we interrogated.
- Tapia, yeah.
- FRANKS: Let's see if we can't
get him to give us a real name
on the warehouse owner.
No way Tapia's gonna talk.
Mike, the guy pinned everything
on his dead buddies.
You think he's just gonna
suddenly give up the dude
- that's running the whole thing?
- You got a better plan?
(SIGHS)
Manny Santiago.
RANDY: Flaco's driver?
The guy that shot him?
He's in witness protection, isn't he?
Manny knew Tapia for years
in the Chacales.
He's got to have an inside tip
that can help us break him.
I already called Agent Swanson
to see if she can put us in contact.
- (PHONE RINGS)
- You talked to Swanson?
U.S. Marshals handle WITSEC.
There's no chance
- they're gonna allow contact.
- Dominguez.
You never know.
Agent Swanson's got grit.
Okay. Thank you.
- Swanson arranged for Manny to call in.
- RANDY: Dang!
Gritty and quick as heck.
She mention anything about me
on the phone just now?
- I should be the one to talk to Manny.
- RANDY: Wait, you mean 'cause
Lala has a secret relationship with him
that we never discussed as a group?
Yeah, technically, that makes her
the one he's most likely to trust
with inside information,
don't you think?
(PHONE RINGS)
Manny?
Yeah, it's me.
(SIGHS)
I don't think we have much time.
- Did someone fill you in?
- Yeah.
The two boys that were murdered,
they were innocent.
It was everything you were
afraid of with Flaco.
I need to know how to break Tapia.
Tapia has a kid. A son.
Around the same age
as your victims.
Tapia, he he does
a lot of dumb stuff,
but he loves his kid
more than anything.
Manny
Thank you.
(SPEAKING SPANISH)
(SIGHS)
What does that mean for you?
That I go where they send me,
I guess.
That I have to start over.
You know, this town
they got me in, it's
it's not so bad.
FRANKS: He give you anything?
(SMACKS LIPS)
Tapia has a son.
We should use that to break him.
All right.
- (GRUNTS) Let me go.
- Stand right here. Don't move.
Stand there and you don't move.
Chief?
LALA: The victims are brothers.
Probably got Franks
thinking about his own.
We shouldn't leave them in there long.
How was Manny?
(SIGHS)
He wants me to move where he is.
(SCOFFS)
- He thinks you're gonna quit NIS?
- With the shutdown,
the thought of having to start over
in a new office,
having to prove myself
all over again to a bunch of
Where Manny is, the sheriff is retiring.
Change could do me good.
FRANKS: Stay where I put you,
you hear me?
- (OBJECT CLATTERS)
- Hey! Stay there!
(GRUNTING)
- Look at him!
- Let me go!
- Look at him!
- That's enough.
- They was just kids!
- Mike!
- Kids just like your boy!
- Enough, Mike!
They had a mama who loved 'em.
They had a mama who's gonna be
empty the rest of her damn life!
All right!
We picked up the wine in Baja.
- We drove it to the warehouse. That's it.
- You stole it!
We didn't know it was stolen.
Who shot them kids?
Who killed them kids?
It was the owner.
The warehouse owner.
He shot 'em for breaking in.
He told us to clean up the mess,
then he left.
Who is he?
- Who is he?
- He goes by Hauser,
but that ain't his real name.
I seen his face on the news before.
He had something to do with that
movie theater getting bombed.
You talking about Abe Pruitt?
TAPIA: Pruitt, that's right.
This whole thing
is his operation.
He's the one that shot those kids.
ABE (OVER RECORDING):
My name is Abe Pruitt,
and I am here to bear witness.
I was prepared to serve
my time in prison,
but a higher power
set me free to lead
my people to a life of peace,
where we abide
by our own rule of law.
My people,
if you're out there listening,
come to the sanctuary.
Meet me at the sanctuary
What's all that?
It's a recording of Abe Pruitt
on a local radio show.
It's from last week.
So, he blows up his lawyer to
get a mistrial, gets released,
goes on a radio show,
kills two kids in his warehouse
full of stolen wine.
Impressive summary, boss.
LALA: After the radio show,
he went off the grid.
BOLO's out, and I contacted
FBI Swanson to see
if she had any leads on his whereabouts.
She sent over this tape,
and said she'll circle back later.
Circle back as in call
or stop by in person?
Mike, you want to talk
case stuff, or you want to
put on our PJs and dish about
your crush on Agent Swanson?
What do we know about the wine place?
GIBBS: Abe does own the warehouse, but
the surrounding land is unincorporated,
- same as his original compound.
- LALA: Original compound
was legally seized by Wilson & Barnes.
Could be he's trying to start a new one
- near his warehouse.
- New compound?
(PHONE RINGS)
Abe is making a huge amount
from the stolen wine business.
He said on the radio show that he wants
his followers to meet
"at the sanctuary."
We think he might've used some
of that money to buy a church
in the area for his headquarters.
Church makes sense for a guy
who thinks he's God.
Tell him thanks. That was forensics.
Phil will have something for us
in a timeframe
that's not too short, but not too long.
The hell is that supposed to mean?
Take Dominguez with you.
Probie and I'll start
looking into churches.
Hey, boss.
- Boss.
- (LINE RINGING)
MAN (OVER PHONE): Hello,
you've reached Silver State Ranch.
- Leave a message.
- (PHONE BEEPS)
Yeah, uh
This message is for Mason Franks.
Have him call his brother, will you?
- Soon as possible. Thanks.
- (HANGS UP RECEIVER)
Hey, boss.
- What're you so close to me for?
- All right.
Where is he, still in Nevada?
Yeah. Abe called him from prison.
Could be he said something
about the sanctuary.
Boss, look, um
I want to talk to you
about the office shutting down.
Lala's gonna quit NIS.
(SIGHS)
This thing
It's out of our hands.
Besides, Wheeler's got Vera on it.
VERA: Okay, so
you've all been asked here today
to be part of a
brain trust.
Sharpest minds in this office
coming together to prevent its closure.
I'm gonna go work the phones,
try to get a meeting
with the new director,
and I'm counting on all of you
to arm me with material.
Godspeed.
What're we meeting in the rec room for?
Carl and JJ signed out
the conference room
in case anyone wanted to vent
about the office closing.
They're both up there right now.
I told 'em they have to keep it down.
Dalton Basement,
this is a private meeting.
- I invited him.
- What for?
He's extremely intelligent.
People are usually just
too annoyed with him to notice.
- You two going together?
- VERA: All right, guys, come on,
come on. The world as we know it
is getting ripped out
from under us, all right?
How we gonna stop it?
We should probably get
some snacks up in here
- to feed our brains.
- (STAMMERS)
MARY JO: Uh, honey, I'm not sure
we got what it takes to stop anything.
VERA: (STAMMERS) Don't worry.
Brain trust isn't complete yet.
I called in reinforcements.
Reinforcements?
("OH YEAH" BY YELLO PLAYING)
Oh, yeah ♪
Oh, yeah ♪
Oh, yeah ♪
The moon ♪
(OVERLAPPING CHATTER)
The brain reinforcements have arrived.
(VEHICLE APPROACHING)
(ENGINE REVVING)
RANDY: Lala.
Hey.
Phil's not ready for us yet.
I tried to go in when I got here,
but he said he needed 18 more minutes.
You see that SUV drive off?
I think I saw it
outside NIS this morning.
- Really? Hey, you want some?
- Ooh.
Hey, I asked around the agency.
Looks like I'm the only one
logging evidence into the computer,
so I might have even more sway
than I thought.
Maybe I could get us assigned
to Naples together.
It's been 18 minutes.
I was shocked when I heard
that your office was closing
- Yeah.
- but, to be honest,
it doesn't impact us much here
since we get business
from the whole region.
Except you're sad you won't
get to see us anymore, right?
I'm not a sentimental person, Randolf,
but that doesn't mean
I don't have feelings.
- Aw.
- Mm. We're gonna miss you, too, Phil.
No. I'm talking about
the feelings I have
regarding Woody being chosen as
the delegate for Vera's brain trust.
He declares himself
"the smartest in the lab,"
and no one thinks to argue it? No one?
Forget it. Randolf, kill the lights.
Oh, you want me to
I want you to turn off the lights, man!
Yes.
I've prepared a presentation.
This is your crime scene.
Spilled wine, spilled blood.
Oh, how'd that get in there?
Pay no attention to that,
that's just me being awarded the
Medal of Honor
for "Gallantry in Action."
Civil War reenactment, huh?
Battle intellect is something
Woody could never even fathom.
But I digress.
Here we go. Now,
this particular wine barrel
is different than the rest.
Other barrels that were
struck with bullets
spilled out all over the place.
This one only leaked a little. Huh?
That's right. But why?
I built a model to demonstrate
my theory. Lights.
- Your turn.
- Lights!
Now, step on over and imagine,
if you will,
that this is the barrel in question.
This a bullet hole.
Why isn't it leaking?
- 'Cause it's empty.
- Wrong.
It's not empty.
It's proving the possibility
that as the wine was pouring out
of the bullet holes,
something inside the barrel
got suctioned to the side,
blocking any more wine from leaking out.
Is that your "Gallantry
in Action" medal in a Ziploc?
Yeah. (STAMMERS) It's just an example.
I don't know
what they're actually smuggling.
FRANKS: Nothing.
More nothing.
What the hell are you doing?
You said one of these
had something in it.
Yeah. It's that one.
- (WHISTLES)
- RANDY: Yeah.
Looks like weapons.
They just got to assemble 'em.
Pruitt's arming his people.
But how are they getting
the weapons out of here?
LALA: I'm gonna take a look at
the truck that's parked out front.
He ain't smuggling 'em
in all these barrels.
- Yeah.
- Let's go. Find the next one.
(VEHICLE APPROACHING)
(TIRES SCREECHING)
(ENGINE REVVING)
Hey!
- Lala? What the hell was that?
- That SUV was here.
The one that was at forensics.
It's following me.
GIBBS: Hey.
Boss, I was looking for you.
Grabbed a shower to get
the wine stink off of me.
Still no leads on where Pruitt is.
We don't know how many weapons he has,
what he plans on doing with 'em.
Nothing at the area churches.
"Sanctuary."
Could be any place you make it.
What, probie?
We can't let Lala leave.
We don't know who's following her.
It could be Flaco's guys,
could be Pruitt's.
There's no way we're gonna
run all this down
before the office closes.
She's gonna leave town,
and she's not gonna be safe.
That's about the longest line of words
I ever heard you string together.
We got to stop them
from shutting down the office.
The hell you want
me to do about it, huh?!
I want you to act like my friend.
I got two dead boys in there
And I'm not talking about those
You think it ain't killing me
that they are busting up
my team? My team!
You think that ain't killing me?
There ain't nothing I could do about it.
That's a choice.
Sitting here like an ass,
staring at your boots.
Yeah, okay.
(LAUGHS)
You walk in here and guilt me.
Why you doing that?
Truth is,
Dominguez can protect herself
no matter where she goes.
You and I both know that.
You didn't walk in here for the team.
You walked in here
'cause of what you feel for her!
But them feelings?
They mess with your head.
Compromise your gut.
And that's a problem
even if we only got one week left.
LALA: Mike.
We got something.
¡Ay, caramba!
What happened to your locker?
FRANKS: What do you got?
The truck that was broken down
at the warehouse,
it looked familiar. We shared
- the plates with FBI Swanson.
- Bam.
It was in her database.
Remember the fleet of trucks
she was tracking
- last time she was here?
- FRANKS: 'Course I remember.
She wouldn't shut up about 'em.
Yeah, Chacales are using them
to transport the wine.
To the warehouse, yeah.
Swanson's sure of it.
She's in the middle
of briefing us on the fleet.
RANDY: That's right, boss,
she's waiting upstairs,
so you probably want
to comb your mustache.
Based on my interviews
with Manny Santiago
before he went into WITSEC,
along with FBI surveillance,
I confirmed that Flaco took over
Rico Luna's fleet of trucks
after Luna was killed.
Is your hair wet?
I grabbed a shower to get
the wine stink off me.
- (SIGHS) Okay.
- What?
I-I just No. I can't picture
you showering.
But you are now.
RANDY: Okay, wow.
Now we're all picturing you
showering, boss. (CHUCKLES)
Anyway, Agent Swanson was saying that
these trucks seem to be
a "no questions asked"
transport business,
- right, Agent Swanson? Yes.
- That's right.
Everything appears aboveboard
on the surface.
They transport electronics
and industrial parts.
I didn't know about the wine,
and I could never find proof
of smuggling.
- Show her the weapons, Rando.
- He did.
LALA: The Chacales
would deliver the barrels,
and when they'd come back
for the next delivery,
the warehouse would be empty again.
Pruitt's moving in the weapons
slow and steady.
Yeah, but we still have no idea
how many he's got or where
- he's stashing them.
- Have you talked to your brother?
Maybe he's heard something
about this "sanctuary" location.
I'm waiting on a call back from him.
Are you you're leaving?
Yeah, I'm gonna see what else
I can dig up
on Pruitt's whereabouts
back at headquarters.
We're a bit more advanced
than a corkboard.
RANDY: I actually really
love the corkboard, boss.
You think I could take it home
as a memento for when
- the office closes?
- LALA: There's got to be
another way to track down Pruitt.
What about his ex-wife?
GIBBS: I tried.
She hasn't heard from him.
Wait, wait. Hold on. What are we doing
banging our heads against the wall?
We have a whole frickin' brain trust
hanging out in the rec room right now.
- Oh yeah ♪
- (OVERLAPPING CHATTER)
Here's your problem.
- You look good, Woody.
- Thank you.
I appreciate it, but enough about me.
Let's talk about you
- for a second.
- VERA: Okay, change of plans.
(OVERLAPPING CHATTER)
Thank you, baby.
- I've been power walking.
- You can tell.
Hey!
We got a new directive, all right?
We're gonna set aside
the office shutdown
for a bit to help Team Franks
figure out where Abe Pruitt is.
Yes, diversifying. Sweet.
They at least gonna take us
through what they know so far?
Nope. Everything we need
is right in here.
So you're making sure Franks
isn't coming in,
- messing with our flow?
- VERA: Affirmative.
We will tell him our findings
when we're done.
♪
The sun ♪
Even more beautiful
(LAUGHS) ♪
We got this son of a bitch.
- (CHEERING)
- HERM: After reviewing all the info,
we got a theory on Pruitt's location,
and we're pretty dang confident
we're right about it.
And you're gonna
want to know the details
- of how we
- No, Vera.
That's why you only belong
in here as a visitor, Michael.
Just tell me where he's at.
Abe Pruitt is not making a new compound.
The "sanctuary" is his old one.
He's going to try to take back the land
- he was kicked off of.
- He can't.
Wilson & Barnes took it over.
They didn't start construction
yet, Mike,
because of all the money
they flushed down the toilet
on legal fees.
And the compound is
sitting there vacant.
So, I'd get my ass over there
pretty quick if I was you.
♪
- SWANSON: FBI, open up!
- POE: We're armed,
and we're not complying.
We have an arrest warrant
for Abe Pruitt.
FRANKS: Open the damn gate,
- or we're busting it down.
- POE: Listen, man,
that's a bad idea.
SWANSON: Tell Mr. Pruitt
to get on the radio. Channel 2.
Gibbs, grab your rifle.
Take Dominguez with you on the radio,
see if you can find yourself
a better angle.
Got him.
ABE (OVER RADIO): I'm telling you,
for the sake of everyone's safety,
you all
need to turn around and go home.
Abe. Mike Franks.
You want to protect your people,
you lay down your weapons, walk on out.
Heya, Mike.
Listen, no one needs
to get hurt over this,
unless you make it that way.
LALA: We got eyes inside the gates.
Two men with AK-47s,
50 meters from your position,
heading inside the building
on the northeast side.
Everyone else must be inside
the structures.
RANDY (OVER RADIO): Copy.
Franks wants you guys to
stay put till you hear from us.
Out.
They got a movie theater?
What?
You're gonna go be sheriff
in the town they got him in.
Maybe you have a hard day
getting a cat
out of a tree or something.
Maybe you need an escape, same as here.
They got a movie theater?
(LALA SIGHS)
That's the question you're gonna ask me?
What do you want me to ask?
(SCOFFS)
You know what?
Just shut your mouth
and go live your dream life.
Go become the job, and get a house
- with a basement.
- Mm-hmm.
And build your stupid boats
alone for the rest of your life.
RANDY: You guys see anything?
LALA: Negative.
Everyone's still inside.
Mr. Pruitt, how many people do you have
- in there with you?
- This isn't a conversation.
You need to leave,
or people are gonna get hurt.
Look, we got two dead kids and a witness
that'll testify you shot 'em.
We got smuggled weapons,
and now, obstruction.
Lay your weapons down. It's over.
No. It's not, Mike.
It's not over.
We got some folks here
who took up arms,
but we got some others
that don't want to.
They're infighting.
You saying you got hostages?
It's better for them
if you leave.
Abe
Abe, Abe
ABE: Tell him.
Tell your brother.
MASON (OVER RADIO):
Mikey, please.
I came back. I
I didn't know it was gonna be like this.
Tell him.
He's saying
if y'all don't leave,
he's gonna have to speak
your language.
Mikey, you got to stand down,
or he's gonna hurt someone.
Pruitt is threatening
to "speak our language."
He has an unknown number
of hostages inside.
(SIGHS) One of them
is Franks' brother.
What? Mason?
No, he's in Nevada.
No, Pruitt convinced him
to come back. He's being held
inside at gunpoint.
Franks wants to go in.
We're trying to talk him out of it, but
he found a weak spot in the gate
on the west side.
Put him on.
Copy. Stand by.
It's Gibbs and Lala.
- What?
- GIBBS: Boss, we can't go in there yet.
We don't know their position,
their numbers.
FRANKS:
I ain't say nothing about "we."
What, you're going in alone?
Affirmative.
Boss, you are too close.
You said it to me yesterday,
it'll mess with your head.
It ain't the same thing.
He's my brother.
I lost him once.
We found our way back to one another.
I ain't gonna lose him again.
GIBBS: So, we gather intel,
make a pla
(RADIO SHUTS OFF)
Boss.
What are you doing?
We have to hold our position.
We can't help him from here.
I don't have a shot.
What's he mean,
"it's not the same thing"?
Same as what? What's he talking about?
You coming or not?
FRANKS: Rando.
Listen to me.
We need to keep negotiating
until we have more information.
You think he's bluffing?
The man thinks he's God.
He killed two kids in cold blood.
He knows he's cornered.
We need to keep talking
Boss, let's just take it down a bit.
and keep waiting
until we have more intel.
The longer we wait, the more
time he's got to pull the trigger.
He says he's gonna speak our
language, he damn well means it.
Mike.
I can't let you walk in there alone.
Sure you can.
(GUNSHOT)
- AGENT IN CHARGE: Shots inside.
- Everyone hold.
- (AGENTS SHOUTING)
- Hold.
- FRANKS: Anyone have eyes on?
- Bust it down.
AGENT: On three, get ready to move!
Move, move, move!
On me!
SWANSON: Clear and hold your fire!
We have hostages inside.
RANDY: Clear these windows.
(SMOKE ALARM BEEPING)
FRANKS: They're popping smoke screens.
- Freeze.
- (WOMAN SCREAMS)
They got gas masks!
Stop!
Rando!
RANDY: Drop it!
Hold. Hostages. Move, move!
GIBBS: They're headed for the garage.
They're gonna try and drive off.
- You see Mason?
- Negative.
(METAL BAR CLATTERS ON FLOOR)
MASON: Mikey.
ABE: Go home, Mike.
Do you love your brother?
Then go home.
- (GRUNTS)
- Stay down! Stay down!
- Stay down.
- (GRUNTING)
Stay down! Stay down!
ABE: I told you to go home.
You hear me, Mike?
You hear me?
- (FRANKS YELLS)
- I told you to go home.
FRANKS: Stay down.
Give me your hands. Hands!
Speak!
Speak their language!
Speak!
Mason!
No.
Gibbs!
(GROANS) - Where is it?
Where is it? Where did you get hit?
Where is it?
Where were you hit?
(GIBBS GASPS, GRUNTS)
Dominguez, where's he hit?
It's here. It's in the vest.
He's okay. Hey.
Look at me. Look at me. Look at me.
You're okay. You're okay.
Just breathe. Just breathe.
Just breathe.
(GIBBS PANTING)
SWANSON: I'll get Pruitt back to
you once I'm done questioning him.
He's already in my car.
I'll take him first,
- then give him to you.
- Look.
Pruitt murdered a pair of kids.
I haven't forgotten.
I'm gonna have my way with him
for all the other atrocities,
and then, he's all yours.
By the way, you're welcome
for busting down that gate.
Better be careful, or people
might start thinking
we make a good team.
(CHUCKLES)
SWANSON: Mr. Pruitt. Step out, please.
I need to get you loaded into my van.
Let's go.
MASON: I believed him.
He, uh, said there was a way
to get our land back peacefully.
I j I just wanted to be
a part of something.
I mean, you spend so many years
fighting alone and
You ain't alone no more.
You hear me?
When are you gonna get that
through that thick head of yours?
Listen, little brother,
you best watch your tone.
(LAUGHS)
Excuse me, sir, you wanted an update?
He's stable.
Smoke inhalation like the rest
of you, but we're gonna get him
checked at the hospital.
The impact of the bullet
maybe broke a rib.
Thank God for that vest.
- FRANKS: Thank God for the vest.
- GIBBS: (CHUCKLES) Yeah.
(FRANKS GROANS)
FRANKS: I was right when I
said feelings mess with your head.
Messed with my head, too.
What you've done for my brother
I'm sorry I couldn't
keep the team together.
Hey, boss.
VERA: Sir,
we have very high hopes for the strategy
we're presenting today
to keep the office open.
It comes after many long hours
and very little sleep
Just get to it, will you?
Sorry. Sorry.
I've made about 500 calls to secure
just 15 minutes with Director Morrow,
and I have no idea when he is calling.
So, please, please,
tell me that you have something
real for me to pitch him.
Yeah. Dr. Friedman?
Oh, that's me.
- Yeah.
- Dr. Friedman. Bitchin'. Okay.
"Handsy scandal."
- Yes, that was awful, so now
- Mm-hmm.
what we have to do is stop the public
from thinking that NIS
and the military are corrupt.
The worst thing an agency can do
is take an office off a military base.
By keeping the office on base,
we're showing the public
that we're committed
to policing our own.
That's it?
No, we have a second part.
- Okay.
- VERA: Buckle up, sir.
You're gonna love this, I promise.
"Targeted Rebranding."
That's right. We sell the idea
that we're hard on crime.
Hard on crime, indeed, and to achieve
this messaging, we add
a strategic word to the name.
Dalton Basement, would you mind?
- I would not.
- Thank you.
"NCIS."
Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
- Yeah!
- (CHEERING)
- (LAUGHS)
- NCIS! Get pumped!
WOODY: (LAUGHS) There's a "C" in it now.
- This one feels it.
- I know. Don't you feel it?
(SCOFFS, STAMMERS)
The smartest brains in the office, and
you're telling me
to pitch him the letter "C"?
Well, sir, it's easier than
shutting the whole place down
- and reassigning people.
- (SIGHS)
We're banking on the fact
that bureaucracy is,
by definition, lazy as hell.
- (INTERCOM BEEPS)
- GAIL (OVER INTERCOM): Sir, I have
- Director Tom Morrow for you.
- Oh, God.
Director Morrow.
OLDER GIBBS: Cliff
Wheeler went to war that day.
He pitched that "C"
like his life depended on it.
What do you think?
(CHEERING)
NCIS!
That's what I'm talking about!
OLDER GIBBS: Director
Morrow bought the pitch.
He ran it up the chain,
and the very next day,
we found out the Pendleton
office wasn't going anywhere.
Look alive!
Mary Jo, can I get one more hat?
I'm swinging by
autopsy and forensics.
(LAUGHS)
I love all Italians
and their boot-shaped country,
but I'm so glad I get to stay
in the nuthouse.
(CHEERING)
RANDY: Hey, uh, Gibbs.
The doctor released you?
What's the word?
Uh, fractured rib. I'll be good as new.
Beautiful. Hey, go grab yourself
a hat and jacket.
Mm. Thanks, man.
Oh, oh, Gibbs!
- Gibbs!
- (CHEERING)
Where's Lala?
She wrote everyone a note
but I ain't had the heart
to give 'em out yet.
She decided to stick
with her plan to take off.
I think working with you's hard on her.
Feelings, you know?
OLDER GIBBS: The movies we
were at a couple of nights before?
I found out later that neither
of 'em had a happy ending.
(LAUGHTER)
OLDER GIBBS: I guess they
tried to make 'em more like real life.
Oh, no!
OLDER GIBBS:
One minute, you're laughing,
- the next minute, who knows.
- (PAGER BEEPING)
Turns out, that SUV wasn't
following Lala.
- (MUFFLED SHOUTING)
- It was tailing Randy
'cause of some of that stuff
he was typing into the computer.
But we didn't know till later
that he was even gone.
(PAGER CHIMING)
In that moment, all I knew was
that another case was coming in,
like always.
Duty was calling.
I was gonna go to the crime scene
and get on with my life,
like she was never there.
I was gonna walk out the door
like the story of her
never happened.
But I couldn't do it.
And I ♪
Will always love you ♪
I will always ♪
- (DOORBELL BUZZING)
- Lala. Lala, are you there?
Lala. Lala, it's me!
- Love you ♪
- (VEHICLE APPROACHES)
(CAR DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)
LALA: Nice jacket.
I will always love ♪
I tried to leave, but
I couldn't.
Bittersweet ♪
You asked me if there was
a damn movie theater.
That is all ♪
I'm taking with me ♪
I wanted you to ask me to stay.
So goodbye ♪
Please don't cry ♪
Will you stay?
We both know ♪
I'm not what you ♪
You need ♪
And I ♪
OLDER GIBBS: She did stay.
Love you ♪
We got our happy ending.
I will always ♪
I only wish it could've
lasted forever.