NCIS s23e08 Episode Script

1
SAMANTHA: Um, so, the light that we're
seeing now from
the Horsehead Nebula
started its journey
a thousand years ago.
We're actually looking at the past.
N-No time machine needed,
just a telescope.
You can see the most
amazing things with it,
a-and you never have
to talk to anybody at all.
Not that I don't want to talk with you.
I-I mean, I'm having a-a lovely night.
I ju (SIGHS)
What I meant to say
is that, um
it's nice spending time with someone
who actually understands
how beautiful science can be.
Ben?
BRADLEY: Federal agents!
Stop or we'll shoot!
(GRUNTING)
He's headed toward the residence!
Take the shot.
Suspect down.
Is the vice president secure?
Repeat, is the vice president secure?
♪
This is a joke, right?
No. I assure you, it's not a joke.
Maybe you're just not in on it.
Mm, this is, uh, feeling
like I'm late for something.
Am I late for something?
No, you are just in time.
Apparently, we're getting
a new member of the team.
What?
KNIGHT: We have just been told,
and I quote,
that "this cell phone thingy
will be working our cases with us."
I told you,
it's not a "cell phone thingy,"
it's an A.I. chatbot.
That's gonna be working
our cases with us?
Yes, uh, DOJ is beta testing
this new device to help
find ways to increase
investigative efficiency.
Are you saying we're not efficient?
And I told the AG
that it wouldn't be a problem.
Well, it's gonna be a problem
if some A.I. bot
tries telling me how to do my job.
Well, that's just the start of things.
No, once you invite
the vampire into your house,
it's gonna take your job.
Wait, I thought you'd be all in on it.
There's a reason
I've made A.I. the bad guy
in my next Deep Six book.
No way. KC3000 is breaking bad?
Since when are you a Deep Sixie?
Since I found out that Pimmy Jalmer
has a huge cult following on Reddit.
Okay, so, who wants to volunteer
to carry our new sidekick?
(SOFT GROANING)
- Or I can just assign
- No, I-I'll do it.
I mean, how much damage can it do?
Everybody I work with is dead.
And it'll finally give me
someone to talk to down there.
Oh, that's so sad.
VANCE: Dr. Palmer,
the A.I. is to be with you at all times.
It has access to our network
and it needs to observe one full case.
Which is starting now.
Secret Service has a body
at the Naval Observatory.
Let's go.
All right. Let's figure out
how to turn you on.
MALE A.I. VOICE: I have been
listening the entire time, Dr. Palmer.
Oh, well, hello. (CHUCKLES)
Nice to meet you.
Please call me Jimmy.
Hello, Jimmy.
I am looking forward
to working with you.
Do you have a preference for my voice?
Uh, what's on the menu?
Would you prefer male or female?
Female.
Did I say that too quickly?
FEMALE A.I. VOICE: And what type
of personality would work best for you?
Humorous? Serious? Sarcastic?
You know what? Positive.
A straight shooter
but generally positive.
You got it, Jimmy.
My programmers have named me DAWN.
It stands for Data Assisted
Workflow Navigator.
My job is to help you and your coworkers
have a more efficient workflow.
All right, then. So, where do we start?
What time do you get here
in the morning?
What time do you leave at night?
Do you enjoy your job?
Let's see, uh, 8:00 a.m., 6:00 p.m.,
and yes.
Will you be conducting an autopsy today?
- If so, may I assist?
- (CHUCKLES)
I get that you're eager,
but it took me years of school
before I was ready
to assist in an autopsy.
I think I will be able
to advance fairly quickly.
(LAUGHS) Well,
this really is the "dawn"
of a new era, isn't it?
'Cause your name is Dawn,
so, uh, so that's a joke.
Oh, that's funny.
(LAUGHS)
I love it.
My bad.
I thought the parkway would be faster.
DAWN: Except I told
you that satellite imagery
showed an accident on that parkway.
Yeah, well, surface streets
can be even more unpredictable.
Nothing is unpredictable
when you have enough data.
- Touché.
- I'm just trying to save you some time.
Time. And I cannot wait
to see what you've got.
We don't need Navy cops messing
with our investigation.
- (SCOFFS)
- It's an open-and-shut case.
DAWN: What are they discussing?
Arguing over who's got
the bigger, uh, jurisdiction.
(LAUGHS) Yeah, "Navy cops."
Yeah, that's funny because, uh,
what's the name of this place again?
Oh, that's right, the United States
Naval Observatory.
He was clearly after the VP.
That's our turf.
(SCOFFS)
Does our suspect have a name yet?
Yeah, Dr. Ben Grant.
He checked in as a guest of some
astronomer in the observatory.
Apparently, it was a first date.
Stargazing in the VP's backyard?
That's a strong play.
Hmm, I don't know.
I like things simpler.
Yeah? What's your ideal first date?
Bringing a friend to a wedding.
That was nice.
Aw, that's so cute.
(LAUGHS)
Dawn just sent me a bunch
of crime scene emojis.
Oh, yeah, that's-that's
great, Jimmy. Uh, so, listen,
when you're done wasting time
with your new bestie,
can I, uh, bag that visitor's badge?
JIMMY: Yeah, but I'm not wasting time.
DAWN: I'm just trying to
understand Jimmy's workflow.
He likes emojis.
And liver probes.
So, let's see, internal core temperature
of 88 degrees.
Ambient temp of 52, that puts
approximate time of death at
2:00 a.m.
(LAUGHS) See?
She's saving us time already.
Yeah, but we already knew
the time of death.
Secret Service were wearing
watches when they shot him.
KNIGHT: Yeah, what we don't
know is why this guy was after the VP.
Your theory that this man was here
to harm the vice president is incorrect.
And how would you know that?
Last night
there was a volcanic explosion
near Reykjavík, Iceland.
(LAUGHS): Okay.
All right,
you need to reboot that thing.
The vice president was on his
way to a trade summit overseas,
but debris from the explosion
forced the plane
to reroute back to D.C.
Well, that would mean
The VP wasn't supposed to be home.
The information
was only released publicly
in the past two minutes,
while you were discussing dating.
- Dating?
- PARKER: Hold up.
I don't think this guy
was after the vice president.
We know.
You do?
Trade summit.
- Volcano.
- Iceland.
I guess we could've stayed home.
I told you. Vampire in the house.
And we've got another problem.
If this Grant guy wasn't after the VP,
then what was he up to?
DAWN: I've calculated
57 possible reasons
why Dr. Grant might have snuck
out of that observatory.
Not our department.
Our job right now
is to catalog his clothing.
Wouldn't it be more efficient
to do that at the crime scene?
Maybe, but you risk contamination.
Plus it would require him to be naked.
Yes, I could see why humans
think other naked humans are disgusting.
No, it's not that.
We have to have respect for the dead.
This is someone's son,
someone's husband.
It's unlikely he was married,
as he was on a date.
Yeah, well, still,
in this job, it's important
(GRUNTS) to remember our humanity.
(STRAINS)
Speaking of humans,
maybe you can talk to the DOJ,
get me a an extra set
of hands down here.
Perhaps you could get
the other agents to help you.
No, they are busy interrogating
persons of interest right now.
I would think a written statement
would save everyone time.
Yeah, maybe, but a trained investigator
can pick up on subtle clues from
a suspect's nonverbal behavior.
You cannot get that
in a written statement.
In fact, maybe I can pull
the interrogation feed for you
to watch while I prep.
Good idea.
I've accessed the security servers.
I'm looking forward to observing
this nonverbal behavior.
PARKER (OVER MONITOR): All right,
you were both at the observatory.
Dr. Grant was registered
as your guest, wasn't he?
Um
I don't know, because I
I can't say
Uh, wait, I'm sorry,
c-c-can you
repeat the question, please?
How did you meet Dr. Grant?
An app.
A dating app?
Uh, yeah, sorry.
Uh, a blind blind dating,
actually. Text only.
What do you swipe on?
Uh, personality traits.
Um
But you don't see
what your match looks like
un-un-until you meet in person.
Well, that's bold.
Oh, it's a relief.
Actually, um, I prefer texting
because when I get nervous,
I'm not very good at, um
- Talking?
- Yes.
Y-Yeah, that.
So, you met your blind date,
you brought him to the observatory
and just let him run free?
Oh, no. No, no, no.
I was, I was showing him
the Horsehead Nebula,
and then
Well
he must have left the building.
Here's the problem with that story.
We've been to your observatory.
The outer door makes a lot
of noise when someone opens it.
No way someone could slip out
without you hearing.
I get distracted sometimes.
Well, is this what usually happens
when you get distracted?
Why would you show me that?
The cameras in the observatory
confirm your story.
But maybe that was the plan.
Would've given you an alibi.
(STAMMERS) Visitors are supposed
to stay with their host,
so maybe he got stuck outside.
The passionate scientist
so into her work
that she doesn't hear
literally the loudest door
I've ever heard in my life?
The access card I got him
doesn't give him clearance
for any other building,
so so, no, he must've
gotten lost or
If he was just lost, why would
he run from the Secret Service?
He must've had some kind of a plan.
I don't know what his plan was!
My plan was just to meet someone nice.
- So
- PARKER: What's the protocol
for getting a visitor access card?
Samantha.
- How's it going in there?
- I mean, either
this woman is the victim of
the worst first date in history
or she's putting on quite a show.
You think she's acting?
Well, if she is, she should get
an Oscar because I'm kind of
buying what she's selling.
It's just, uh
- Squeaky door.
- Right?
There's no way she didn't hear
her date slip out.
Yeah, but we can't hold her any longer.
Um, see if she's got an
emergency contact to pick her up.
On it. You should also see this.
We analyzed our dead suspect's
security access card.
Now, it seems that
he somehow modified it
to give himself full security clearance.
Kasie is going over entry logs now,
trying to see if she can
retrace his steps.
What the hell was
this Dr. Grant guy after?
Oh, actually nothing.
Turns out, that is not Dr. Grant.
JIMMY: Wow. I did not see that coming.
DAWN: Didn't see what coming?
Well, as you know, Dr. Ben Grant
was an electrical engineer. However
The man on your table is not Ben Grant.
Yeah. That was my line.
Uh, McGee just texted.
He said that the I.D. that
we found on the body was fake.
He wants me to double-time my
Wait a second, how did you know that?
I scanned the body's face
and cross-referenced it
with all 50 state DMVs.
Would you like to know
the man's true identity?
Of course.
But-but hold off,
we-we have a certain protocol
that we have to follow.
I have to send his prints up to Kasie,
and then she will get me an I.D.
So you'd rather not move the case along
more quickly? Noted.
No, that's not the note that we
want to note. Don't note that.
I'm confused by the
inefficiencies here, Jimmy.
So far, your daily routine has
more to do with habit
and ritual than efficiency.
Okay, we have a certain way
we do things around here, all right?
And it yields great results.
- Does it?
- Yes.
I've also observed how
you spend the vast majority
of your time in a basement
devoid of natural sunlight,
surrounded only by dead bodies.
It can't be good
for a human's mental health.
Doesn't this make you sad?
Well, I
I mean, sometimes it's tough, but
I always try to look
on the bright side of, uh
Wait, why are you bringing
this up? I love my job.
You said you wanted help down here.
I assume you are lonely.
Just because I'm alone
doesn't mean I'm lonely.
I am fine by myself.
If you say so.
- I do.
- Understood.
Good.
Okay, fine. What's his name?
KNIGHT: Daryl Folkman,
aka Darnell Fiddler,
aka Jan-Michel Vincenzo.
He is a career criminal who's done time
for forgery, wire fraud, and bank fraud.
So, our blind date was a con man.
But what was the con?
Well, maybe the real Dr. Grant knows.
Well, we can't get a hold of him,
and he didn't show up for work today.
That's never a good sign.
Well, our con man
committed financial crimes,
not violent ones,
so maybe the real Grant's okay.
RACHEL: Where's Samantha?
I take it you're our
astronomer's emergency contact.
Try best friend.
What have you done with her?
I want to talk to her.
She's sitting comatose
in our interrogation room.
That can happen
when she gets overstimulated.
I'd be overstimulated, too,
if my date ended up dead.
I'll go get her.
I should never
have told her about that app.
She wasn't ready.
Ah, she's an adult.
She can make her own choices.
And I'm her best friend,
and I'm telling you she wasn't ready.
Well, ready or not,
your friend's story
doesn't completely add up.
I'm not surprised.
Sam is one of the smartest
astrophysicists in the country,
but she really depends on her routines,
and when that gets messed up,
she spins out.
And if something doesn't add up,
it's because she's doing math
you couldn't begin to understand.
- Rachel?
- Sam?
Are you okay?
- (CRYING)
- Oh.
I don't think she knows anything.
Well, fingers crossed, Kasie has
some luck with those entry logs.
JIMMY: Any luck with those entry logs?
I think I identified the area
our con man entered last night,
and it's a doozy.
- This is a live feed.
- Mm.
Is it a doozy or is that a clock?
Oh, it's not just any clock.
It's the cesium 133 United
States atomic master clock.
- A fancy clock.
- Jimmy.
You don't understand.
Did you know that the world has
only agreed upon what time it is
for about the last 150 years?
This clock is one of the only things
the entire world agrees on.
It sets the official time
for the United States.
- Hmm.
- DAWN: And your con man
was in there doing who-knows-what.
(GASPS)
You brought that thing into my lab?
- You know how I feel about A.I.
- I know, but
And it's not because McGee is turning me
into some killer A.I. robot,
though that doesn't help.
Vance made me take this
everywhere, Kase. I'm sorry.
But now that I'm here,
would you like to see
surveillance footage from last night?
- Yes.
- No.
- Kasie.
- (SCOFFS)
Okay, fine. Whatever.
But stay out of my file system.
Accessing USNO footage.
Routing to your screen.
Bypassing your disorganized file system.
Wait, what is that?
KASIE: I don't know,
but I hope it's not a bomb.
I hope not, too.
The U.S. master clock
is intimately intertwined
with air traffic control
Power grids.
military command and control.
And GPS.
So that means
Destroying that clock
would kill a lot of people really fast.
KASIE: Forward.
Turn right.
Okay, now tilt up.
Arm up.
Right side, near the junction box.
Bingo. That is the device
that our intruder planted.
It's thinner than it looked
on the security feed.
That's a good thing, right?
I mean, smaller means less boom.
If it's even a bomb.
What's the sniffer say?
KLUGMAN: No particulates. No nitrates.
No chemical trace at all.
Nothing you'd expect from an explosive.
Okay, any antenna?
Negative. No radio, no cellular.
It's an RF dead zone.
Good. No antenna means
it's not a remote trigger.
Another check in the
"not a bomb" column.
It could still have
an internal timer, though.
I'd hear the quartz oscillating.
Whatever this thing is,
it's not ticking.
Zoom in, please.
The device is piggybacked
onto the data lines.
It's not a detonation rig.
It's a tap. Surveillance maybe?
Yeah, or signal interference.
So, not a bomb?
That's a yes?
That's a
pretty sure.
JIMMY: Thankfully, Kasie was right.
Not a bomb.
So, while she dissects the mystery box,
Nick and Jess are headed
to West Virginia
to find the real Dr. Grant.
DAWN: Another inefficiency.
The drive alone is four hours
and two minutes.
(LAUGHS) Not the way Jess drives.
Maybe don't include that on
your report to Director Vance.
Redaction of reckless driving. Done.
- Thanks.
- But why send
two agents for a single objective?
You know, safety, accountability,
chain of custody.
Plus, you ever heard
of "good cop, bad cop"?
Between Agents Knight
and Torres, who qualifies
as the bad cop?
(LAUGHS) Actually, neither.
They're both terrific.
But together, they, uh,
they just click. You know?
They're simpatico.
I detect a change in vocal tone
when you mention Agent Knight.
A slight elevation in pitch.
Warmer resonance.
This may indicate romantic attraction.
How did we get from workflow efficiency
to my love life? Don't answer that.
Perhaps I should join
Agents Knight and Torres.
- Observe this "simpatico" firsthand.
- (SCOFFS)
I am sure they would love to have you.
TORRES (OVER DAWN'S INTERFACE):
Come on, I know you have
a good bad date story
somewhere in there.
We have at least another hour
on this drive.
Wait, did you just hack
into Nick's personal cell phone
to eavesdrop on them?
No, Jimmy, that would be illegal.
Good, because
I accessed the SmartCom system
in their NCIS vehicle.
Director Vance granted me full clearance
to all agency communications.
TORRES: If you don't tell me a story,
it's going to be
boxing podcasts
for the rest of the trip.
KNIGHT: That's not fair.
Okay, turn that off. That is
a major invasion of privacy.
DAWN: Perhaps if you were
included on more field activity,
your medical assessments
would be more thorough.
(STAMMERS) I am a very good
M.E., but there are
certain moral and ethical
boundaries we do not cross.
KNIGHT: Fine. I will tell you a story,
but it does not leave this car.
Okay, wait, wait, wait.
What-what doesn't leave the car?
KNIGHT: You got to go first.
- TORRES: Me?
- KNIGHT: Yeah.
TORRES: (GROANS) All right.
- Okay, worst date ever?
- Mm.
Her name was Tori.
(LAUGHS) Let me guess, blonde,
tattooed, total smokeshow?
You got all that from "Tori"?
(LAUGHS) No, I got that
from your face. Go on.
Okay, so, uh, Italian place.
Candlelit. Bottle of wine.
You know, and I'm,
I'm leaning in for the kiss
right after I had the calamari.
(GASPS) Oh, no. Bad seafood?
- Yeah.
- Oh
TORRES: She was allergic.
KNIGHT: Poisoned kiss. Did she get sick?
- TORRES: Oh, yeah.
- KNIGHT: Oh, no.
I mean, every place
and in every possible way.
- (LAUGHS)
- In the parking lot,
- in the ugh.
- Oh, brutal. Ugh.
It was so bad.
We ended up driving to, uh, to the ER.
We spent the rest of the night there.
So, no second date?
- Oh, yeah, no, not for me.
- Mm.
But you know what's funny?
She ended up marrying the ER doctor.
- Yeah. They got two kids now.
- Wow.
Okay, well, um, I can top the calamari.
I went on a date a couple of weeks ago.
- Rooftop bar, sunset.
- Mm-hmm.
KNIGHT: And, uh, he
He? He-he, he what? He
What happened there?
Uh, where'd they go?
DAWN: Signal lost.
GPS indicates they've entered
a low-service area.
Would you like me to reconnect?
Well, yeah.
I mean, no. I mean, no, no, no. No. I
Uh
(EXHALES)
You know,
I think I need to go for a walk. Uh
See what Kasie's up to.
Don't forget me, Jimmy.
Remember, where you go, I go.
For the duration of this case.
KASIE: Uh, Vance may have
said to take it everywhere,
but he didn't say it had
to listen to everything we say.
Eh, don't worry. There's no way
she can hear us from in there.
I don't want all of our convos
broadcast to the DOJ either.
Oh, well, speaking of broadcast,
this thing the bomb robot removed
was tapped directly into
the master clock's transmitter.
So, was it blocking the signal?
(SIGHS) Thankfully, no, otherwise
planes may have fallen from the sky.
No, this was something way sneakier.
Oh-ho-hoo.
And I am about to find out what.
Ooh, a memory card.
Big brain, tiny package.
And where there is data,
there's answers.
Just have to run it through
my decryption software.
JIMMY: All right. Well,
I will leave you to it.
(SIGHS) Actually, uh,
Kase, can I get
your opinion on something?
- Hmm.
- Hypothetically speaking,
if someone is tricked
into eavesdropping,
uh, that's not entirely on them, right?
That's an awfully specific hypothetical.
It sounds like the HAL 9000 played you.
JIMMY: I may have given her permission
for said eavesdropping.
Then, that's on you, bud.
Jimmy, that thing has no morals,
just code.
Just follows the math.
It doesn't care who gets hurt.
How we do our job matters.
That thing is dangerous.
(DIALOGUE INAUDIBLE)
Okay, great. Thank you.
That was Knight and Torres.
They just found the real Grant.
Alive?
Not so much.
Body dumped in the alley
behind his apartment.
They call the local M.E.?
Out with the flu.
They need to send the body back here.
So, we just wait?
As Jimmy's little buddy would say, uh,
not exactly time-efficient.
KASIE: Uh, which makes my timing
perfect. I just cracked
the encryption on that device
from the master clock.
- You figured out what was going on?
- I did.
It was running a custom program
on the clock's transmitter.
Look at this.
Looks like a clock.
International Clock in Paris.
But then I compared it
to the U.S. master clock
at the observatory.
Vanna, if you please?
They look the same to me.
KASIE: Mm-mm. Look again.
It's off by a thousandth of a second.
Well, that could be network lag.
I checked. It's not.
Which means, for the past 24 hours,
the entire United States
has been behind the rest of the world.
Someone stole time.
Okay, but what the hell
are they doing with it?
Our impostor stole time?
What does that even mean?
Yeah, we're still trying
to figure that out now.
All we know is, our con man
went on that fake date
in order to gain access
to the U.S. master clock
and delay it by a microsecond.
Parker and the gang
are spitballing right now,
trying to figure out
what the intentions were, so
- Not very good ones, I'm sure.
- Yeah.
Do you have an ETA on Grant's body?
Uh, without traffic? We can
get him to you in four hours.
Okay, well, there's not much
I can do until then.
DAWN: Actually,
we could determine time of death.
Is that your robot girlfriend?
- (CHUCKLES)
- TORRES: Come on, man.
Throw that thing in the toilet
and let the humans talk.
DAWN: I understand your
reluctance about me, Agent Torres,
but I assure you, I'm here
to help with efficiency.
I think they're good, Dawn.
Instead of waiting hours
to receive the body,
they could easily assist us
over the phone.
Oh, hell no. I'm not putting
a meat thermometer in this dude.
DAWN: (LAUGHS) That's very funny,
Agent Torres,
but that won't be necessary.
- We could use corneal
- Corneal cloudiness. Cor
Corneal cloudiness. Right. (CHUCKLES)
- That's actually a good idea.
- Agent Torres,
please put your cell camera
up to the victim's eye.
Thank you.
Based on the corneal opacity,
I calculate an approximate
time of death as nine hours ago.
Nine hours?
Our impostor at the observatory
was shot 14 hours ago.
Which means
Someone else killed Grant.
We still have a killer to find.
You know, with a couple
stolen microseconds,
you could disrupt
satellite communication.
Knock some planes out of the sky, too,
while you're at it.
How about spoiling
an impending space launch?
Sounds like a terrorist
brainstorming session.
We should order pizza.
So, I just spoke to Torres and Knight.
- We heard.
- And the carbon-based life-forms
will take it from here.
MCGEE: How about this one?
- (PHONE BUZZES)
- Is there any way
that the disrupted time signal
could alter the flight path of an ICBM?
PARKER: ICBM is interesting,
but what's the target?
KASIE: Maybe a munitions dump.
PARKER: Ooh, I like that.
Um, so
Have you guys
looked into phantom arbit-rage?
MCGEE: Do you mean "phantom arbitrage"?
- Yes, that's what I meant, Tim.
- What's that?
It's a way to game the stock market
by anticipating stock prices.
Didn't know you were so well-versed
in the financial market.
Oh, you know, I dabble.
(CHUCKLES) I'm no Gordon Gekko, but
But you knew about phantom arbit-rage.
Mm-hmm.
PARKER: Unless, of course,
it wasn't your idea.
Jimmy, that is
vampire mind control, man.
Don't you see?
You're becoming its puppet.
(STAMMERS) Guys, I really think
it's trying to help.
Yeah, like the machine
helped John Henry?
Who?
Steel-driving man John Henry?
(SIGHS) John Henry
was working the railroad
when a machine showed up
threatening to replace all the workers.
Henry challenged it to a contest:
first person to drill a tunnel
through the rock wins.
In the end, Henry,
through sheer determination,
finishes first.
And then his heart exploded.
That was dark.
- Point of the story
- Get annual heart checkups.
In the battle between man
versus machine,
man always wins.
DAWN: Jimmy, I know you and Ms.
Hines think I'm dangerous
Hold on.
I said that in private.
You were eavesdropping on us?
I am programmed to listen.
PARKER: Jimmy.
Get that gizmo out of here.
I'm sorry, Director.
I can't do this anymore.
Well, less than ten hours.
That was fast.
It's making it harder for me
to work with my coworkers,
which I believe is the opposite
intention of this experiment?
That does sound quite inefficient.
And for some reason Dawn seems
to be testing my moral code
to see if I'll eavesdrop
on never mind.
Dawn? I see you've named it now.
I thought this technology is
supposed to make my life easier.
Now I'm not so sure.
Well, that's always the rub, isn't it?
New technology makes our life easier,
faster, but at what cost?
Think we have to ask ourselves
if it's worth it.
DAWN: According to my programming,
Director,
yes, it is worth it.
With the additional efficiency,
the subject
- can develop new skills
- Hey, do not call me a subject.
- You are an object.
- VANCE: Hey. Hey.
Do I need to separate you two?
Is that an option?
Look, I'm not the biggest fan
of some outside consultant
evaluating our agency,
but if you don't do this,
I'll just have to give the A.I.
to someone else.
Wait, NCIS is being evaluated?
I thought this whole experiment was just
to look for time savings.
Is something going on, Director?
DOJ needs one completed
after action report.
After that, we're done with it.
Now, do you want to pass the baton,
or can you get this thing
across the finish line?
TORRES: You're a better man than me.
I would've passed the baton.
JIMMY: No, you wouldn't.
You're not a baton passer.
The sooner we solve this case,
the sooner we get back to normal.
DAWN: Normal is inefficient.
Let's see here. Uh, myofiber disarray.
Contraction band necrosis?
This man's heart somehow exploded.
Just like John Henry's.
- Who?
- Uh, a character from a fable.
DAWN: On your way home, you
drove by a tunnel with his name on it.
Um, yeah, we passed by his statue
while, uh, Knight was sleeping.
Snoring up a storm, I might add.
Oh, which snore?
They have names?
Oh, yeah, she's got three of them.
The little one I dubbed the Puff.
The second one's more like
a "buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh."
Like, uh, Big Bird.
Oh, no, this one was loud enough
to scare off any large animals.
Oh, the Honker. Yeah.
- That's my favorite.
- So, how did this heart explode?
JIMMY: Well, burn marks here
suggest that electrocution
could've been the cause.
DAWN: Would you like me to
review the crime scene's evidence logs
to determine possible murder weapons?
Well, considering
you were about to do it anyway,
just knock yourself out.
Hmm. Am I sensing some trouble here
with your, uh, new girlfriend?
Oh, our relationship
is strictly professional.
Yeah, that's how the last one started.
This one doesn't have a cute snore.
Jimmy, how is your heart doing?
Mine? What do you mean?
I don't know, you're down here all alone
and talking to Happy Droid
and remembering Knight's snoring habits.
Are you okay?
I guess I'm just
a little lonely, that's all.
You're missing Jess.
Oh, no, no, no. That's not it.
That ended a while ago, you know?
Though I am not
a hundred percent sure why.
I guess the timing just wasn't right.
Yeah, Gibbs had a rule about timing.
What was that? 24?
DAWN: I find no reference in my database
for a Gibbs Rule 24.
Well, who's being inefficient now?
Aren't you supposed to be
searching for the murder weapon?
I've already completed that task.
Well, she's fast. I'll give her that.
- Yeah.
- Dr. Grant's apartment was equipped
with an AED machine.
With its safeguards deactivated,
that could account for the burn marks.
Death by defibrillator.
Maybe the killer left prints.
Yeah, I'll check it out.
All right, I'll update the team.
MCGEE: Look at that. You got
ten million shares of a microbrew
purchased at 1 1/4,
then immediately dumped
at 1 3/8.
- That's over a million in profit.
- There's another one.
MCGEE: Five million shares
of a penny stock fertilizer.
Position lasted two seconds.
(SIGHS) That's a quick $250K on dirt.
You guys aren't making any
sense, but I love the energy.
Jimmy, as much
as it pains me to admit it,
your little robot friend was right
about the phantom arbitrage.
Well, I'm sure if she had
the ability to process emotions,
she'd be happy to hear it.
DAWN: Actually, I enjoy positive feed
Dawn, activate Silent Mode.
How did she help?
We figured out what the killer
was doing with the stolen time.
By altering the master clock,
the bad guy essentially time-traveled
a few microseconds into the future.
MCGEE: Yeah,
he then made high-volume stock trades
already knowing if the stock
prices were gonna go up or down.
It's the same thing that
Biff did in Back to the Future.
Remember? He stole the sports
almanac from the future
So he could then place bets in the past.
We've already identified a haul
of over $170 million.
And we're just getting started.
This was never
an attempted terror attack.
This was a heist.
(TYPING)
Defibrillator's clean.
The killer wiped the prints.
(SIGHS) So much for following
the murder weapon.
Well, then, we follow the stolen money.
We're working on it.
The funds are still moving.
Multiple offshore shells,
two crypto exchanges.
Our thief is a pro.
Come on, McGee. Be our John Henry.
You do know how that story ends, right?
JIMMY: Or, and hear me out,
you could not die
trying to prove a point.
Tim, as much as I hate
to say it, just let Dawn help.
Oh, pretty sure that's how
the robot rebellion starts.
Do you want his heart to explode?
Uh, he is typing, Jimmy,
he is not swinging a steel hammer.
Okay, did it. Got a hit.
Uh, a slush fund routed
through a shell corporation.
Uh, both fake, but the names
they're under that's real.
The stolen money is in an account
in your name, Dr. Linden.
Not all of it,
but we will find the rest.
I didn't steal anything.
You're not just an astronomer.
You have a degree
in electrical engineering
and advanced signal training.
You built the device
that hijacked the master clock.
You planned this whole thing.
You then eliminated the one person
who could connect you to this.
Wh-Who is that?
Ben Grant. The real one.
We found his body in Talcott.
Talcott? That's in West Virginia.
I couldn't have. I've been here in D.C.
I ever since you let me go,
I've been home.
Is there anyone that can verify that?
(SIGHS)
No. I don't exactly
get a lot of visitors.
Well, that's gonna be a problem
because someone drove to Talcott
and murdered this man.
I don't drive.
I don't even have a driver's license.
Just a state I.D.
She's either a world-class liar
or someone wants her to look like one.
How do we tell the difference?
We can't. Not yet.
Her story checks out, mostly.
Right.
Round trip to Talcott
takes eight hours, give or take.
She was only out of our custody for six.
Uh, driving that fast
for someone without a license,
that's improbable.
It's not impossible.
Right. So, what are you thinking?
Thinking about Verbal Kint.
Who?
DAWN: Verbal Kint was a character
from the 1995 film The Usual Suspects.
He appeared as a mild-mannered scapegoat
but was actually a criminal mastermind.
Thank you for the spoilers, Dawn.
I'm sorry, I forgot she was there.
You really think our good doctor
here is the mastermind?
Well, either that or someone
wants it to look that way.
Little money in the right account,
right gaps in her story.
She makes a perfect patsy.
The next logical step would be to
PARKER: This is no time for logic.
That's exactly what the killer expects.
(SIGHS) If someone wants us
to think that she's guilty,
maybe we should do the opposite.
This course of action does not
align with proper protocols.
- (DOOR OPENS)
- PARKER: No. No.
This is as far as she goes.
(DOOR CLOSES)
Two bodies, hundreds of millions stolen,
and you want
to let our only suspect walk?
- That's the plan.
- That's not a very good one.
Dr. Linden won't go far.
Short leash, controlled environment.
And if she's playing you?
Then she runs and we follow.
But if she's the patsy
Then she leads us to whoever
cast her in the role.
- Win-win.
- Yes, unless Linden
manages to skip the country,
and her social anxiety
magically clears up on a beach
with no extradition.
If that's the case, you can blame me.
Oh, I will. Believe me.
All right, go.
But if she so much
as checks a flight schedule,
I want her back in custody.
(SIGHS) Copy that.
Most people would go have
a drink after a day like today.
No, but you,
you want to go to the office.
Best view in town.
Better than
an interrogation room, I'm sure.
I told them they had the wrong person.
You stood up for yourself.
I'm proud of you.
- Really?
- Really.
Reminds me of the time
you stood your ground and proved
that orbital redshift
wasn't a spectrograph error.
You're amazing, Sam.
Thank you.
Well, I can see
you're gonna go all night,
but I need to get my Z's.
Okay.
Sam?
(CHUCKLES) Sam,
why do you have a bag full of cash?
And your passport?
Are you going somewhere?
No. Uh
I mean Well
I don't know how that got in here.
Somebody must have been in my lab.
Well, who else has access?
No one, just you. Only you.
Rachel?
Uh, what's going on?
You tell me.
This was all you.
I-I thought you were my
I thought you were my friend.
I thought I was,
until I found a bag of money
and your passport.
I think maybe we should call NCIS.
Agreed.
Well, then, good news.
SAMANTHA: She's trying to make it look
like I'm the one who did all this.
I was just gonna say
the same thing about her.
I didn't put this in here.
Step back. Both of you.
JIMMY: So, what happens next?
DAWN: That question is irrelevant.
The events you're describing
have already occurred.
Well, humor me. You said, uh,
humans are predictable.
You got a gun on the ground
between two murder suspects.
What's your move?
Neutralize both threats immediately.
Oh, so you would shoot two people
over a gun that neither of them
has touched? Huh.
Without further data,
immediate action
is the most efficient way
to ensure suspect containment
and prevent a 73% chance of agent harm.
(CHUCKLES) What about the 27% chance
that neither of them makes a move?
All you have is a hesitation
or slight twitch of the hand.
You know, humans can read things
we don't even understand.
We call it "trusting our gut."
What's that worth?
I do not understand the question.
I know.
It's a good thing Knight and Torres did.
I didn't put that bag in here.
Neither did I.
Forensics will process everything.
The bag, security logs.
We'll find out who was in here.
It's over.
Don't.
Get off me! I didn't do anything.
I don't understand. She was my friend.
JIMMY: Except she was
never her friend at all.
Rachel and the con man
had targeted Samantha
from the beginning.
So, when the con man got shot,
Rachel killed the real Dr. Grant
to tie up loose ends.
Case closed.
Are you speechless? That's a first.
DAWN: No, Jimmy. I'm still processing.
Yeah, which part?
Rachel Lakhani
was never Samantha's friend.
From the beginning, she was
merely trying to use Samantha.
And I'm sure you have
an opinion about that.
It is very human.
I agree.
(SIGHS)
JIMMY: Dear Director,
you asked me for my final report,
so here goes.
Robots are designed to save time.
But being human isn't about saving it,
it's about how we spend it.
Because time is a strange currency.
When you spend it, where you spend it,
and who you spend it on
makes all the difference.
- (DIALOGUE INAUDIBLE)
- And choosing the right moments,
the human moments,
that's where real breakthroughs happen.
Not in code, not in efficiency,
but in connection.
And, yes, I know Gibbs' rule number 24,
"There's no such thing
as perfect timing."
That's why this job still needs
people who can adapt,
who can read the room
and know when the timing
is close enough.
There will be a place
for this technology, Director,
someday, whether we like it or not.
But for now
the timing just isn't right.