NCIS: Sydney (2023) s03e14 Episode Script

[MACKEY]
I can see why Travis likes you.
Oh.
- [GUNSHOT]
- Trigger! [PANTS]
[EVIE] You save me.
- I save you.
- Deal.
[ANGLE GRINDER WHIRS]
[EXPLOSION BOOMS]
[EVIE BREATHES HEAVILY]
I can't find a pulse.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[GROANS]
[MONITOR THUDS]
[EVIE GRUNTS]
[PUNCHES LAND]
[EVIE] Are you okay?
You know I had him, right?
[COUGHS]
[SUBDUED MUSIC]
[WAVES LAP]
[SEAGULL SQUAWKS]
Oh, no way!
Come here, little guy.
Mum! Look what I found!
Whoa! Is that an octopus?
Are you blind? It's a starfish.
Starfishes usually hang out together,
but this little guy was on his own.
Maybe he's lost.
Well, he is now, isn't he?
Now go put him back. Five more
minutes or we'll miss the bus.
[GENTLE MUSIC]
Teddy?
[UNSETTLING MUSIC]
Teddy!
[WAVES CRASH]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
Teddy!
Teddy, where are you?
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CONTINUES]
[UNSETTLING CHORD]
Teddy!
- Teddy!
- [DRAMATIC MUSIC]
- Teddy!
- [TEDDY] Over here.
What have I told you about
playing where I can see you?!
Especially when you're on your own.
It's okay. I was just playing
over there with the creepy man.
What?
[UNSETTLING MUSIC]
Hello?
[MURMURS QUIZZICALLY]
[THEME MUSIC]
Mate, I've got a holding cell
that reeks of bad decisions
and partially digested
street food, so I get it.
[MACKEY] If JD cracks this guy,
that's seven confessions this week.
It's so cool. It's like watching
psychological "jitsuju."
Jujitsu.
Bless you.
[JD] What do you reckon? Hm?
[PLAYFUL, QUIRKY MUSIC]
[JD] Yeah.
[MACKEY] Mm-hm.
[JD SIGHS]
Boom! Another one hits the dirt.
I'm not gonna lie, Jim.
You are owning that room this week.
[BLUE] Totally, boss,
you're playing chess
and he's playing Hungry Hungry Hippos.
Oh, steady on, folks.
I'm breaking boneheads,
not busting Moriarty.
[POPCORN CRUNCHES]
[BLUE] I love Fleet Week.
It's like the interrogation Olympics.
[MACKEY] Except JD has no competition.
[DOOR OPENS]
[BLUE] And that is a new record!
Three minutes and 52 seconds.
Damn, Sarge. You're in the zone.
What shall we do with
the drunken sailor?
Check him into the Hangover Suite.
Give him a chance to sober up
before we have a little chat.
[EVIE] Come on, Connor.
OK, fellas, room for one more.
- [CONNOR GROANS]
- [EVIE GRUNTS]
If you feel like you need to
yak, just call for DeShawn.
[CONNOR] Mm-hm.
[JD] All right, next up,
we've got PO Connor Walt.
Security found him stumbling
around a Fleet Week function
totally off chops,
can't remember a thing.
- [DOOR OPENS]
- Surprise, surprise.
- [DOOR CLOSES]
- Mmm.
- [DESHAWN] Ha-ha! Look out!
- All right.
- Something we should know, D?
- Not really.
Just a Grade 1 Vertical
Rescue Certification, boss.
I am officially qualified
in saving people
from dangling off of cliffs.
Ahh! And look good doing it.
- [LAUGHS] Okay. Go, D.
- [LAUGHS]
Go, nerd.
It's called professional development.
- You should try it.
- I'm developed enough. Thanks.
Not in inflatable rescue mats,
edge management, abseiling
Ha ha!
Wanna see my new knot?
Not! We're cops, D, not Avengers.
Girl, it's not a crime
to wanna be the best
when the Batphone rings.
[PHONE RINGS]
Special Agent Mackey.
Fleet Week brings a sense of pageantry
and a huge boost in tourism to the city,
but the body of an American
sailor found unresponsive
in North Bondi's famous rock pools
[PEOPLE CHATTER]
[DESHAWN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS REPEATEDLY]
Petty Officer First Class Sam
Roberts from the USS Pascal.
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS REPEATEDLY]
What are you thinking, Doc?
I'm thinking that water is more frigid
than a coroner's handshake.
Meaning?
Well, sticking your head in that
would trigger the mammalian dive reflex.
Conserves oxygen, slows the heart,
prioritizes brain function.
So if he went in the water alive,
his body would have resisted drowning?
Exactly! His body would have
instinctively fought to stay alive.
Okay, so we're not buying suicide.
Not if it was dipped in
chocolate and rolled in nuts.
[MACKEY] Still,
we should get a full workup
of the petty officer's mental
health status just in case.
[EVIE] We'll see if we can
find anything on CCTV.
What is that? A playing card?
Tarot.
Meant to predict the future, right?
Nailed it.
[UNSETTLING MUSIC]
Each card has a meaning, right?
What's this one tell us?
According to FoxGlove Oracle,
The Star is about "following the
glitter trail of the universe
towards your highest vibration."
I can't tell you how many men
have promised me that trip and failed.
[DESHAWN] Also,
"Hydration is your birthright."
- Nope. Sorry.
- [DOOR OPENS]
That's an ad for
crystal-infused water. My bad.
[TRIGGER] In Major Arcana sequencing,
The Star is always
followed by The Tower.
It marks a turning point in
renewal, purpose and clarity.
I'm sorry, we've not met.
Jim Dempsey. And you are?
Back.
Good to see you, mate.
Sick of nanna naps and daytime TV, bro?
Yeah, I guess I'm just too young
and too restless, D.
[DESHAWN LAUGHS]
[EVIE] Oi!
You really know about this
or are you just trying
to out-nerd DeShawn?
[CHUCKLES] Well, I had an ex
who was into tarot.
I know bugger-all, to be honest,
but, uh
..what I will say is all
the decks that I've seen
are stock-standard, store-bought,
but that card
..it's one of a kind.
[FOOTSTEPS RECEDE]
Um Yeah, the, um
I get it.
You're all thinking
the same thing, right?
How did Sam get his own
fancy personalized card?
Yeah.
If we're dealing with a killer,
maybe it's less tarot card,
more calling card.
Then there's the credit card.
We'll retrace his steps.
See if we can find out what
led Sam to those rock pools.
We driving or do you wanna
web sling over there?
[LAUGHS]
[DOOR LATCH CLUNKS]
[SIGHS]
[BAG THUDS SOFTLY]
[EXHALES SLOWLY]
[CHUCKLES]
[FABRIC RUSTLES]
[MACKEY] Is that
your thinking face, Doc,
or your "We're screwed" one?
Uh, a little from column A,
a little more from column B.
I've seen a ton of drownings,
but this one did not get the memo.
So you're confirming COD's drowning?
The lungs are full of water.
- But?
- But [SIGHS]
..we are not built to
voluntarily drown ourselves.
Still, with no cuts, bruising,
rock fragments under fingernails
or any signs of a struggle
at all, I've got nothing else.
[JD] Okay, so maybe
Sam was killed elsewhere
and posed the way we found him?
Nah. Lividity says no.
Video says no as well.
I got this from a surf cam
that was set up near the point
to monitor the swell.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
That's unbelievable.
It's like he's in a trance.
Yeah, I can't say I saw that coming.
Back to suicide, then. Case closed.
[SIGHS] Now, that I saw
coming a mile away.
[PATRONS CHATTER QUIETLY]
- [BARTENDER] 11:43pm, was it?
- [DESHAWN] Mm-hm.
Uh
There you go.
Thank you.
[BARTENDER] That's him with the drinks
in the corner with his mate.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER AND MUSIC ON VIDEO]
Wait, is that the drunk guy
you brought in earlier?
Yep.
Petty Officer Connor Walt.
Fleet Week turns this joint
into a madhouse.
The place was going off
like a frog in a sock.
Not those two, but.
In their own world.
Easy to be in your own world
when no one else is invited, right?
Take your time, mate. I know it's a lot.
Again, we're very sorry.
Now, we accessed CCTV over
you guys in a bar in Kings Cross
around midnight last night.
Looked like you were having
a pretty good time.
I don't know. I guess.
What, you can't remember?
I'm not much of a drinker, but I
I don't know. Must have been
more than I thought.
We just spoke to Sam's chief.
Your chief.
Uh, Sam had recently broken up
with a long-term girlfriend.
You talk about that?
Was he sad? What was his mood like?
He was good.
Excited about life after the Navy.
Yeah, fits with what Chief said.
"Sam was working out who he really was."
And who he was to you, right?
Uh
[POIGNANT MUSIC]
[SIGHS]
I was into Sam
from the first time we met.
It just took him a little longer
to feel the same way about me.
And now he's
Have you ever seen this before?
[UNSETTLING MUSIC]
Uh, no.
[MACKEY] They were
looking to the future.
No way that ends in suicide.
- Mmm.
- [VAN DOOR CLOSES]
[JD] And did you see his
reaction to that tarot card?
[MACKEY] Yeah, like
he knew it meant something,
but he didn't quite know what.
- [ENGINE STARTS]
- Mm-hm. So what do you reckon?
I reckon we need to find
whoever gave Sam that card.
[SOFTLY] Right.
Right, last transaction of the night.
12:33am, Sam withdraws 50 bucks.
Look, Sam taps his credit card
all night,
then suddenly withdraws cash
from here, why?
What does 50 bucks get you in
the red-light district anyway?
[SIREN WAILS IN DISTANCE]
How about two of those?
$25 tarot and psychic readings.
- Sign says open.
- [DOOR RATTLES]
Door says closed.
Yo.
[TENSE MUSIC]
[GRUNTS]
[SWITCH CLICKS]
Power's out.
- AFP! Anyone here?
- [DOOR CLOSES]
[DOOR BANGS]
[BEAD CURTAIN CLINKS]
Federal Agents. Hello?
[CREAKING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[DESHAWN] Something don't smell right.
[EVIE] Yeah, it smells wrong.
Very wrong.
[THUDDING NEARBY]
[DRAMATIC CHORD]
[CREAKING]
- [DRAMATIC MUSIC]
- [BEAD CURTAIN CLINKS]
[EVIE SIGHS]
[CAT MEOWS]
Oh, there's your stink.
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS REPEATEDLY]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]
- [SIREN WAILS IN DISTANCE]
- [OFFICER] Copy that.
Hmm, don't have to be a psychic
to know a bathtub blow-dry's
never a good idea.
Front door's locked from the inside.
No sign of struggle, no obvious wounds.
Yeah, we've heard that song before.
Got a time of death, Rosie?
Well, water and electrocution skew TOD,
but given the bloatage
and the skin slippage,
I'd say the old chook's been
marinating two, maybe three days.
Plus her cat was clearly peckish
enough to have a little nibble.
That's why I prefer dogs.
They'll die hungry and loyal.
Cats, they'll treat your corpse
like a charcuterie board. [CHUCKLES]
Either way, we can
safely assume Madam Celeste
did not give Sam
a tarot reading last night.
Nope. So who did?
[MACKEY] And who
..is handing out these?
[UNSETTLING MUSIC]
Phew!
This reminds me of my aunt May.
Loved her some tarot.
Read anything but the room.
Right. [CLEARS THROAT]
Sit down. Take a card, please.
Yeah, that ability to read
the room must run in the family.
Come on. Trigger's not the
only one with mystical goods.
[SIGHS EXASPERATEDLY]
[DESHAWN HUMS]
Wheel of Fortune.
Clearly a very fortunate guess.
- [EVIE SIGHS]
- [DESHAWN HUMS]
The Fool.
Dumb luck. Emphasis on dumb.
Shh.
- Death.
- Which is what you're gonna face
if you don't tell me
how you're doing it.
[SIGHS] Guess the card.
Fake a psychic gift.
Fleece the client. Boom.
Hidden camera.
[DESHAWN CHUCKLES]
[INTRIGUING MUSIC]
[EVIE] Nothing on Gargoyle
Cam for the last three days.
Not since the power blew
and the camera feed died.
But here's something
from just before that.
That's Celeste's hand taking the
card. Recognize the moon tattoo?
So someone gave her a reading
with their own cards.
And no prints, 'cause they wore gloves.
- Any matches on the cards?
- [BLUE] Indeed we do.
So I ran The Star card through a
visual pattern recognition software
used to identify art against
a library of known works,
and
..Threads of Fate.
There was an exhibition
hosted by Roseworth Women's
Correctional Facility.
And the name of the artist?
They're inmates,
so they can't be identified.
On it.
[MACKEY] How is an inmate
handing out death cards?
- [DOOR OPENS]
- [TRIGGER] Boss.
We've got a visitor.
Dr. Barry Dillard.
US Navy Mental Health Services.
I got here as soon as I could. Um
[UNSETTLING MUSIC]
[JD] So you can see why we requested
Sam's mental health background.
I've reviewed a lot of suicides
in my 30 years of service.
None have ever looked like this.
I'm assuming
you've checked for narcotics.
We're still working through toxicology.
And the tarot card found by his body?
It was all over the news.
Look [SIGHS]
..I know it's gonna be
a nightmare for the Navy,
but a sailor taking his own life
is more than just paperwork to me.
So anything I can do to help.
Anything at all.
[JD] So this is a perfect match
to the crime scene.
Incredible.
Have you ever seen anything like it?
Honestly, no.
Uh, usually when someone
takes their own life,
there are warning signs.
Uh, stress, detachment, prior ideation.
Any of that fit?
You mean apart from the video of
him drowning himself in a rock pool?
What are you thinking?
I'm thinking you have to
consider the possibility
that someone guided
Petty Officer Roberts
into taking his own life.
What, homicide by suicide?
[DILLARD] There are techniques.
Mind control, hypnosis, coercion.
It's extremely rare, but it happens.
Is this not the only one?
Uh, sorry, guys.
You might want to see this.
If you'll excuse us.
We'll be in touch.
Thank you for your time.
Special Agent Mackey, are we
looking at a cluster here?
[DOOR OPENS]
This is an active investigation,
Dr. Dillard.
But we'll keep you updated.
Well, I'm here to help.
You have my number.
Bomb techs spend lots of their day
hunting down the origins
of component parts.
Track down the parts,
track down the bomber.
So on a card,
we can track the machine ID.
- [LIGHT CLICKS]
- Kinda like a digital watermark.
Most high-end printers have one.
You decode the dot pattern
and you can get a serial number.
It's scary how much you sounded
like Blue just then.
Probably 'cause I got her to
help me with the decoding part.
But fear not, I will take the glory.
For what exactly?
Well, this card was printed
on a Gerber Grady Smart dot 6
at a print shop in Redfern.
Custom deck, all paid in cash.
- [JD] Okay, nice.
- [TRIGGER] Yeah, it gets better.
Got a delivery address.
Impressive.
[TENSE MUSIC]
AFP. We have a warrant.
[DOOR CLOSES]
- Clear.
- Clear.
- Nothing in the trash.
- No food, no staples.
Filters, but no coffee machine.
And a bottle of overproof vodka.
Something tells me our card
sharp wasn't making martinis.
[GUARD] Keep moving. That's it.
[O'MALLEY] This was painted
by an inmate named Phoebe Bale.
The Spinner, Measurer and Cutter.
It's Phoebe Bale's take
on the Greek mythology around the Fates.
To her, it was about shaping destiny,
even from inside a 4x4 cell.
You endorsed her early parole
despite her troubling history.
Excuse me?
Phoebe was arrested for double
manslaughter in Budapest.
Sentenced to nine years
in a Hungarian jail
before being commuted to serve
out her time in Australia.
Where she was released just last week
after serving only 18 months,
thanks in large part to you.
Well, if you say so.
Actually, if you say so.
"Phoebe Bale is that rare inmate
who understands we play a role
in our undoing and our redemption.
In my professional opinion,
she is a completely
rehabilitated individual."
Pretty strong endorsement, Warden.
[CHUCKLES]
[EVIE] That is your signature, right?
[UNSETTLING MUSIC]
Uh, well
..obviously, I, um
She was a model inmate.
Based on what?
[UNSETTLING MUSIC STOPS ABRUPTLY]
If you have an issue
with my parole recommendations,
take them up with the parole board.
If not, I have a prison to run.
[DOOR THUDS IN DISTANCE]
[EVIE] Thanks.
[DOOR BUZZES IN DISTANCE]
[EVIE] One last thing.
Any idea what that Budapest
incident was all about?
Phoebe's file was sealed.
It was above my pay grade.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Warden sure has drunk
the Kool-Aid on Phoebe Bale.
Yeah, signed off on her
early release with no idea why.
Phoebe must have been pretty persuasive.
I'd love to know
what happened in Budapest,
even if the warden doesn't.
[DOOR BUZZES]
Bluebird, clear your dance card.
Our tarot artist has a name.
Phoebe Bale.
Bingo.
[DOOR RATTLES]
- Oh.
- [JD] Can I help you?
Special Agent Mackey, NCIS.
This is my partner,
Sergeant Dempsey, AFP.
- And you are?
- I'm just I'm the cleaner.
Sorry. I'm Emily Marx.
[PHONE VIBRATES]
It's Doc. What have you got?
[JD] Please, come in.
[EMILY] Okay.
Do you know who lives here, Emily?
No, not really. I just
The the client only moved in
recently.
Nothing out of the ordinary?
Are you are you talking
about the card thing?
- The card thing?
- Uh, yeah.
She was really into
that whole tarot reading thing.
It's pretty weird.
- Weird how?
- [EMILY SIGHS]
She insisted on giving me a reading.
Please.
And, yeah, she wouldn't
take no for an answer,
and then she gives me
this card to take away.
- Wait, she gave you a card?
- Mm.
Can I see it?
Um, the card
You'll just have to let me
What was the card again?
Sorry, is it hot?
It is, right? You feel it?
Yeah, sure, it's hot.
- Hyoscine hydrobromide?
- [DOC ROY] Mm-hm.
Both Sam and Celeste's blood
lit up for it.
You lot call it scopolamine.
Yeah, intel types use it
to override resistance.
Bend the will.
- [GLASS THUDS]
- [EMILY] Sorry, I'm out.
Could you get me
a glass of water, please?
[WATER RUNS]
[EMILY SIGHS]
[JD AND EMILY] Feel better?
[CHUCKLES]
Now, tell me about this card.
[DOC ROY] You dose someone just right,
they will hand over
their wife's jewelry,
and they'll toss in the missus for free.
Or plunge your head into a rock pool.
Sorry, it's Sergeant Dempsey, right?
Mm.
Yeah. What did she say
about the card, Sergeant?
Um, that's what I'm asking you.
Oh, right.
Sorry.
Uh, yeah, let me think.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[EMILY'S VOICE ECHOES] I remember.
It was The Devil.
It's about temptation, obsession.
When the truth calls,
you have to answer.
You don't have a choice.
You're obsessed.
It's about being in control.
Are you in control right now,
Sergeant Dempsey?
You want to be in control, don't you?
- You need to be in control.
- [MESSAGE ALERT CHIMES]
Should I get that card for you,
Sergeant Dempsey?
[MESSAGE ALERT CHIMES]
[EMILY] You need it, right?
You want it.
Yeah.
[DOOR CLOSES]
Where is she? Jim, where is she?
Wait, you didn't get Evie's text?
[PANTS]
Jim, you had her! Jim!
Jim! Did you let her go?
The Devil. It's what I want.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[INTENSE MUSIC]
[EMILY] The Devil.
[FINGERS SNAP]
Physostigmine. It'll clear the fog.
How how did she, uh
I don't understand. What did she
I found these under a ceiling tile.
[DOC ROY] They're for motion sickness,
but the active ingredient is hyoscine.
Extract the gel with alcohol,
then you filter it
for a tasteless, fast-acting
coercion cocktail.
Those coffee filters and vodka.
What what are you
talking about? I didn't
Hey, she dosed your water pretty hard.
Apparently the warden who signed
off on Phoebe's early parole
can't even remember doing it.
Right.
So I dropped my guard.
No. You were manipulated.
Meet Dr. Phoebe Bale,
PhD in neuroscience
and psychology from Sydney Uni.
Brilliant, but completely unethical.
Used her doctoral students as lab rats.
We're talking
psychological implantation
..neuro-linguistic programming
..and subliminal manipulation.
[EVIE] When the faculty
finally found out,
they gave Phoebe the boot,
left Oz disgraced.
Next few years is sketchy.
She's bouncing around conflict
zones like she's in the damn CIA.
[BLUE] Funny you should say that.
I did me some digital lockpicking,
and I found this locked file
on the Pentagon server.
Subject, Bale, Phoebe.
Clearance, Tier 3. Project Tarot.
[MACKEY] No ops logs. No debriefs.
Just a code name and a clearance so high
it'll give you a nosebleed.
Yep, and I also managed to pull this.
[TABLET BLEEPS]
The Hungarian arrest report.
Now, it turns out Dr. Phoebe Bale
had a psych clinic in Budapest
when the incident occurred.
"The incident"?
While conducting
a couples therapy session,
the wife stabbed her husband
to death using a pen.
[DESHAWN] And what happened to the wife?
[BLUE] Nothing officially,
but she put the pen in her nose
and slammed her head on the desk.
Bloods full of scopolamine.
Sounds less like
a botched therapy session
and more PSYOPS interrogation
gone wrong.
- [TENSE MUSIC]
- [TABLET BLEEPS]
Yes! You can run, but you can't skip.
I geofenced Phoebe's place
and ran facial rec, CCTV, traffic cams.
This is from a friendly
neighborhood doorbell cam.
[BLUE TYPES]
[MACKEY] Who's in the car?
[JD] And where are they taking her?
Can you get me a license plate, Blue?
Okay, it's registered to
SureDrive Rentals in Richmond.
You reckon that car has Drive Link?
Can we get access with the VIN deets?
If I spoof a service login and
backdoor the telematics API
Yes! Okay, car has been static
for 37 minutes.
Address in Strathfield.
You know what I'm gonna ask next?
Yep. It's like you're in my head.
Not in a bad way, though, like Phoebe.
Like in a good way.
Like
- [COMPUTER BLEEPS]
- Saved by the ping, hey, Blue?
[BLUE] The car was hired by
Talk about PSYOPS.
[ENGINE ROARS]
Dr. Barry Dillard.
Real name, Dr. William Drexler.
Military psychologist.
Less mental health, more mental warfare.
Veteran DIA project manager.
All the clearances.
Recruited Phoebe
straight out of college.
[EVIE] And ghosted into the country.
No immigration or customs entry.
[JD] Dollars to donuts
he piggybacked in on a military bird.
Which means his DIA status
must still be active.
He's on the clock.
[BLUE] Intel on the Strathfield address.
Okay, house bills and taxes
were paid through
a Virginia-based shell corp.
Power set to minimum draw, no landline.
[MACKEY] DOD Safe House 101.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[CHAIN CLINKS]
[PLASTIC CRINKLES]
Oh. Hello again.
[MACKEY] Stay with her.
I'll find Drexler.
[PLASTIC CRINKLES]
- [FOOTSTEPS RECEDE]
- [DOOR OPENS]
Could I get a glass of water, Sergeant?
[DOOR CLOSES]
[PLASTIC CRINKLES]
Drexler's gone.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[SIGHS] Remind me to ask Doc
why corn never gets digested.
[DESHAWN] Hmm.
Honestly, this is gonna break me
like Phoebe broke Sam.
Oh, she didn't break him, E.
- She made him break himself.
- [GRUNTS]
She's what happens
when spooks stop asking
if they should torture and start
asking how quiet they can do it.
Yeah, I guess there are no bruises
when the war's in the mind, huh?
Our Pentagon liaison got us
the redacted Project Tarot file.
What are we looking at?
A series of suboptimal
interrogation results
across multiple territories.
Suboptimal mean what I think it means?
Yeah.
Great.
[PAGES RUSTLE]
Hey, growing up,
I assumed you rode
back on the farm in Gumly Gumly?
Are you gonna tell me
to get back on the horse?
Did I say that?
I'm not saying anything.
It's your words, not mine.
I may have planted the idea.
Oh, great. My partner's
joined PSYOPS now too.
You got this.
Yeah.
[EXHALES FORCEFULLY]
Drug-free. Just pure Sydney tap.
I was on a pretty decent roll
till you arrived.
Whoever said pride comes before
the fall was on the money, huh?
Mm-hm. Proverbs 16:18.
The actual quote is "Pride
goeth before destruction."
I really enjoy this bit where
you think you're in control.
Okay, so, um, where do we start?
Let's talk about Budapest.
- It is a charming city.
- Mm.
The gorgeous bridges.
The pastries are to die for.
Yeah, I wonder if Noemi and
Jakub Radek got to try them.
Czech intelligence contractors
that Drexler wanted you to flip,
but you got carried away with
your little mind control again,
didn't you?
- No.
- [PEN CLICKS]
See, you don't push because you have to.
You push because you can.
Gets you off, huh?
Found yourself in a Budapest jail cell
and Drexler had to make a choice.
See, he knew you got results,
but he finally had to admit
that you were
an uncontrollable psychopath,
so he burnt you.
Huh?
[MOP SLOSHES]
Is that a wallet? Bags the cash.
It's Connor Walt's.
It's no biggie. We can just send it on.
It's not the wallet I'm worried about.
[UNSETTLING MUSIC]
[JD] First card, Justice.
Accountability.
Now, that's what you wanted
from Drexler, right?
So you targeted US sailors
during Fleet Week
to create a headline
that Daddy couldn't ignore.
[EVIE] Mackey!
[JD] Then came The Star.
Purpose. Your purpose.
Payback for being left to rot
in prison by Drexler.
'Cause you were gonna kill him, right?
Before he got the drop on you?
God, are you really that basic?
Read the file.
I have never laid a finger on anyone
and I have no intention
of killing Dr. Drexler.
NCIS will do that for me.
[DARK MUSIC]
Thank you.
Connor didn't make it back to
his ship. He's officially UA.
My gut says we work out where
that building on the card is,
that's where he's gonna be.
- Blue, any luck on Drexler?
- [BLUE] Not yet.
I'm scanning traffic cams,
rideshares, taxis, the lot.
[EMILY] You were never
in control, Sergeant Dempsey.
You're just another meat puppet.
You give delusional narcissists
a bad name.
You're a mean girl.
You're a playground bully.
- I'm nothing of the sort.
- You're a parlor trick at best.
Why don't you tell that
to Sam and Celeste?
There it is.
[LAUGHS] Don't get ahead
of yourself, Sergeant.
I will be out of here
before a gavel drops
and you'll have sacrificed
yet another life.
Two sailors walk into a bar.
Are you talking about Connor?
Where is he?
I've already got causation,
motive and intent
for two bodies.
You want to add another body
to that list?
[COMPUTER BLEEPS]
[DESHAWN] Still running
pattern recognition
against known Sydney buildings.
- No joy so far.
- [SIGHS]
Tell us about The Tower card again.
Um Uh
A sudden collapse, fall from height,
downfall you can't hide.
It's often shocking and public.
"Shocking and public."
Connor was arrested stumbling
around the Convention Centre, right?
During a Fleet Week function.
If Sam's death didn't
get Drexler's attention,
a suicide in front of VIPs and
the media would do the trick.
[COMPUTER BLEEPS]
- Boom!
- Let's go!
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[JD] Look, I know it's your whole thing,
but I'm done with the mind games.
Phoebe Bale, you're under arrest
for inciting the suicides
of Celeste Harrison
and Petty Officer Samuel Roberts
under Section
- Uh, boss?
- ..31C of the Crimes Act.
Dr. Drexler just booked a ride.
He's in a 2021 Camry.
Send through the drop-off point.
"Pride goeth before destruction."
Blue! I can't follow him if
I don't know where he's going.
You won't have to. He's on his way here.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[TIRES SCREECH]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
[DESHAWN] There. Let's go.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES]
[CAR DOOR OPENS]
[DR. DREXLER] Bring out Phoebe!
- [CAR DOOR CLOSES]
- Show us your hands!
I'm here to take her home.
- The hell you are!
- [MACKEY] Let the driver go.
Connor, you don't need to do this.
Please, just listen to me.
No. This is what I want.
- It's what I need.
- No, Connor.
It doesn't have to be like this, mate.
Phoebe's coming with me.
She's not going anywhere,
and neither are you.
You're just as complicit as she is.
[JD] Get back! Stay back!
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[EVIE] Just get down.
We'll talk about it.
Sam's death is all my fault.
It's not. It's what she does.
She twisted you.
We can't let her win.
[MACKEY] Let him go, Drexler.
This isn't about him. It's about Phoebe.
I need her back. We did great things.
We got results no one else could.
And left bodies in your wake.
You buried the carnage
to save Project Tarot.
[EVIE] Just turn around.
I pushed Sam to love me.
He wasn't ready.
[EVIE] Of course he was.
I saw the tape.
He loved you right back as clear as day.
[UNSETTLING MUSIC]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
- [MACKEY] Stop, or I will shoot!
- [PHONE RINGS]
[TRIGGER] There are 22 cards
in the Major Arcana.
There are only 21 cards here.
Say that again, Trav?
There's a card missing.
[DR. DREXLER] Get out of my way.
[EVIE] Connor,
she got in your head, mate.
No one's in my head except Sam.
I want her back. I need her back.
I just want to see him again.
- Get out of my way!
- [DRIVER GRUNTS]
Stay back!
Connor, no!
Mackey, don't shoot!
[MEN GRUNT]
What the hell, JD? You want to get shot?
He's not armed.
He was reaching for this.
[BREATHES HEAVILY]
Phoebe must have drugged him
at the safe house.
Got in his head too. Suicide by cop.
- You good?
- [DESHAWN] Yeah.
- Is he good?
- Yeah, yeah.
Damn, D, you are a bloody Avenger.
[CHUCKLES]
Just relax, Connor. I got you.
- I got you.
- Thank you.
[SIREN WAILS IN DISTANCE]
[VEHICLE ENGINE STARTS]
Admit it, Sergeant.
I taught you a thing or two.
Piece of advice for all those hours
you're about to spend alone in solitary.
Try not to get inside your own head.
[DOORS SLAM]
You been sitting on that one for a bit?
Yeah, since the drugs wore off.
How'd I go?
You've done worse.
I'll take that. [CHUCKLES]
[UNSETTLING MUSIC BUILDS]
Sorry, is it hot?
It is, right?
You feel it.
[UNSETTLING MUSIC]
[THEME MUSIC]