NCIS s23e11 Episode Script

1
Careful, now.
This is why we came in early
so we can get it right
before your inspection.
And I really appreciate it,
Master Sergeant.
Don't kiss my ass. Just get it right.
Now, remember your breath.
Don't tense up.
But don't be too loose either.
Firm, but gentle.
Like you're petting a baby kitten.
Guess you didn't grow up with kittens.
I had a turtle.
Well, go on. (SIGHS)
Fuse is not gonna collect itself.
If that was live, we'd be lights-out.
I know, Master Sergeant,
and I really appreciate the
Are you kidding me, private?
Literally everything in this
room was designed to kill you.
I swear you'd lose your ass
if it wasn't attached.
Sorry.
Well, is there a problem, private?
♪
All right, all right. Relax,
relax. Take a deep breath.
Let me, uh, let me see
what I can find out.
Any of you hearing any chatter?
Uh, can you be a little more specific?
Yeah, 'cause if it's about
the omelet bar in the cafeteria,
I think we can finally
let that dream die.
No, no, not breakfast. Army CID.
You mean, NCIS in camo?
Those guys. Last time we had
a joint case with the Army,
it turned into a full-blown turf war.
Yeah, I know. This is not about a case.
They're facing a RIF.
Reduction in force?
Rumor is
they're shutting down the whole agency.
The entire Criminal
Investigative Division?
- Says who?
- I got my sources.
It's the whole agency
we're talking about here.
Like, thousands of jobs
and cases. I'm sure,
if this was real,
Vance would've said something.
Yeah, assuming Vance is still
saying anything to anyone.
I've barely seen him lately.
Yeah, rumor has it that
the Army CID is shutting down.
And handing their caseload to us.
Wait, NCIS is picking up CID's slack?
So you have heard something?
Same whispers, yeah.
But I've been around long enough to know
that rumors are like mold.
You give them oxygen, they spread.
Good morning. We're looking for
Special Agent Jessica Knight.
Okay. Who's asking?
Army Criminal Investigative
Division, ma'am.
Your assistance has been
requested at Fort Belvoir.
Urgent situation.
What kind of situation?
We're not at liberty to say,
but you'll be read in
once you get there.
I guess you'd better go.
Keep us posted.
CID's already asking for help
with their cases?
This mean the rumors are true?
Not sure, but I think I know
why they want Knight.
"Standoff at Fort Belvoir."
Remember, be the arrow.
Y'all are the tip, shaft,
and fletching. I'm the bow.
And on my command, we fly.
- Go.
- Major Malone?
NCIS Special Agent Knight.
Hear you're looking for me.
Agent Knight. Glad you could
join us. Let's get to work.
Still waiting on a sitrep.
MALONE: Male suspect. Clearly agitated.
Held two men at gunpoint
in the ammo warehouse.
Let them go
and barricaded himself inside.
Then I'm gonna need a phone
with a recorded line,
warehouse schematics, and, uh,
eyes on any surveillance feeds.
(SCOFFS)
Is there a problem?
Oh, I'd call it more of a
misunderstanding, Agent Knight.
Well, my understanding
is that I'm here for a reason.
I'm a trained negotiator.
Well, you were brought here
for a reason.
Just not that one.
Negotiations are my job.
So, what then
am I here for the snacks?
Almost. Well, you are the snack.
Come again?
Some suspects ask for pizza or burgers.
But this guy is sitting on enough
munitions to level a city block,
and he only made one request.
You.
Did he say why?
Claims he's your little brother.
- Delta, stand by.
- Yes, sir.
Okay.
So, you don't have a little brother.
Uh, no. Just an older brother in Houston
and a younger sister that lives
at an ashram in India.
Well, this guy was very insistent,
so if he's not a relative,
who the hell is he?
There's only one way to find out.
Hold up.
We still don't know who this
guy is or what his endgame is.
But he's agitated, disoriented.
You're walking in cold.
So I need to be crystal clear
about protocol.
I'm not here to freelance.
I'm here to make contact.
Well, I get that. But in this tent,
I'm Fred, you're Ginger.
I lead. You follow.
Oh.
Well, then just don't step on my toes.
MAN: This better be Agent Knight.
KNIGHT: It is.
Now I need to know who I'm speaking to.
Jess? Uh
It's, um, it's me.
Ryan. Uh, Ryan Harper.
Ryan Harper?
My old informant?
Yeah.
You remember what you used to call me?
"Little brother." Your code name.
-We took down that drug ring
-Yeah, and you got me out.
You know, you said I deserved
a shot at something better.
Yeah, so you joined the Army.
You know, this is
a pretty big production, uh,
just to get in touch with me.
Uh Yeah, well, I, uh,
I tried calling your cell, but I guess
you changed your number, so, uh,
I just, uh Look, uh,
I just, I really (GRUNTS)
I really need someone
that I can trust right now.
So, how about you start by
telling me what the hell is going on.
'Cause the guy I knew
risked his life to wear a wire,
not to hold a warehouse hostage.
I I don't want to hurt anyone.
You know? I just I thought
this place would be empty.
You know? Somewhere I could just
go and-and clear my head.
And then those two soldiers came,
and-and I-and I-and I pulled my gun.
And-and (GRUNTS)
It was a mistake.
It was-it was a stupid, stupid mistake.
And you let them go. That was good.
Yeah, but then the MPs showed up
and CID right after them, which is bad.
So why is that bad?
What happened right before
you got to the warehouse?
No! No. No, not-not with CID listening.
I-I can't trust them.
I can't trust anyone but you.
Then come out and we will talk.
I-I can't do that.
No, you have to come in.
And turn a standoff
into a hostage situation?
Not happening.
(GROANS)
KNIGHT: Okay, how about
we not take out our frustrations
- on things that go boom.
- (SIGHS) I am trying, Jess.
I am, but it's just, uh,
it's all messed-up. I-I need help.
And I'm here to help you.
So, please, just calm down
and talk to me.
You say you trust me? Prove it.
Go-go see Evelyn first,
then call me back.
Who's Evelyn?
That's his mother. She lives in Suffolk.
I can have an NCIS team
at her house in 20 minutes.
Maybe she'll tell us something.
Uh, I doubt that.
According to Sergeant Harper's files,
his mother died last October.
If your pal doesn't stop throwing
around high-grade ordnance
and asking for dead relatives,
we may have to end this the hard way.
MALONE: Okay, Alpha,
head to high ground.
Major Malone, I think
we should slow our roll here.
We don't have a roll.
I have a disturbed suspect
in a room full of munitions.
Sergeant Harper isn't trying
to hurt anyone. Let me try
and figure out why
he is in full meltdown.
Who is he to you?
I told you. A former CI.
I never had a CI request me
by name at a standoff.
Seven years ago,
Harper put himself
in danger to do the right thing.
Ten months wearing a wire,
his life on the line every day,
and he only got through that
because he trusted me to have his back.
And I owe him the same thing now.
I don't have that luxury.
To me, he's a loose flame
in a powder keg.
(SCOFFS)
Harper mentioned his mother.
We need to follow up on that.
It could be the key
to getting him out alive.
Look, you are welcome
to wait by the phone
in case he says something useful.
But I've got a job to do.
Your lead, Fred.
Mm.
MAN (ON COMMS):
Sniper moving into position.
WOMAN (ON COMMS): Copy that, Tac Team.
McGee? I need a favor, fast.
Evelyn Harper.
This was her place.
Title's in her son's name now.
Doesn't look like
anyone's lived here for a while.
Oh, Harper probably lives on base.
Yep. Enlisted at 19.
Artillery specialist. Two tours.
So he knows explosives.
(WOMAN SCREAMS IN DISTANCE)
(SCREAMING CONTINUES)
- I kick, you go.
- Yeah.
NCIS!
(ELECTRONIC VIDEO GAME MUSIC PLAYING)
(WOMAN SCREAMS)
Appears we just swatted
a pinball machine.
Not just a pinball machine,
a Ducati and a Jet Ski.
We thinking Sergeant Harper
won the Showcase Showdown here?
Well, Price is Right doesn't
shoot in Virginia. I've checked.
How does an E-5 sergeant in the Army
afford all this stuff?
And why does he want Knight to find it?
HARPER: That stuff's not mine.
Not on Army pay, it isn't.
How'd you get it?
That's the thing, Jess. I didn't get it.
Is that why you wanted us to find it?
You think someone planted it?
It is much bigger than that, all right?
No one's gonna believe me.
I believe you.
That's why you called me, right?
That's why you sent me to the house.
It doesn't end at the house,
all right? They're gonna f
Oh, they're gonna f-find
KNIGHT: Ryan, what are they gonna find?
(GROANS) Someone's using me!
Ryan, tell me what is going on.
(GROANS)
I'm so sorry I dragged you into this.
Don't bother.
He's on the verge of opening up.
He just got spooked.
I can feel it.
Yeah, for good reason.
It's not about toys in a garage.
It's about murder.
My team just searched
your pal's apartment.
Found a body. Killed with
Sergeant Harper's own blade.
Let me call him back. I can
get him out of that warehouse.
Do you see what he's doing?
Those aren't the actions of a
guy who's planning on coming out.
He is spiraling, and you know it.
ALPHA SNIPER (ON COMMS):
Command, this is Alpha.
Got visual on the suspect.
Transmit feed.
Suspect picked up a device.
(SIGHS)
Could be a detonator.
It could be a stress ball.
You don't know.
Alpha, do you have a shot?
Hold on.
ALPHA: Target acquired. Standing by.
Let me get him back on the phone.
And let him move out of sight?
No, this could be our only shot.
ALPHA: Suspect is
assembling an explosive device.
Please, just give me a chance.
I can't leave this to chance.
- Alpha, this is Command.
- Major Malone, don't.
No.
- Send it.
- Major Malo
(GUNSHOT IN DISTANCE)
ALPHA: Sent.
Target down. I repeat: target down.
Any word on Knight?
She's on her way back from Fort Belvoir,
and she's pissed.
Of course she is. Her friend just
took a bullet to the chest
from a CID sniper.
Yeah, miracle he survived.
He's not out of the woods.
He's still on life support.
Did Knight ever get him to explain
why he barricaded himself?
Nope. CID is telling the story now.
Public statement suggests that
Harper murdered a soldier
and then tried suicide by cop.
CID also thought that Harper
had a detonator in his hand.
Turns out it was a training fuse
from a practice session.
So, yeah, not exactly
buying CID's version.
How you doing, Jess?
I'm fine. Harper's not.
CID got this wrong.
I don't know. I mean, if
somebody found a dead guy
in my apartment with my sword
in his chest, and I barricaded myself
- in a room full of explosives
- KNIGHT: Yeah.
It looks bad.
But Harper called me.
Told me he was being used,
and I believe him.
PARKER: Except that's all he said.
And now
it's CID's case.
It's up to them to find the truth.
I'm not sure Malone's
interested in the truth.
He had Harper pegged as
a lost cause from the beginning.
And with CID facing shutdown rumors,
they need a clean win,
not a messy headline.
Point is, Harper isn't getting
a fair shake.
We are missing a piece of this puzzle.
And you want to find it.
Harper's not just an old informant.
When I met him, I thought
being a cop was kicking in doors
and putting bad guys away.
But Harper showed me that
you could actually help people.
He changed his life because of me.
I didn't give up on him back then,
and I'm not gonna give up on him now.
Well, hypothetically,
if we were to get involved here,
how would we do it?
Yeah, we have no body, no evidence.
And no jurisdiction.
It's CID's case. We'd be
stepping on a lot of toes.
Yeah, starting with Vance's.
If he finds out
we're double-dipping on CID
All valid points.
So
let's go step on some toes.
This isn't good, Parker.
I'm getting a ton of calls from CID.
How? Our investigation barely started.
Oh, no, not calls about that.
About the rumors of the CID shutdown.
Folks are freaking out
they're gonna lose their jobs.
And I'm telling you now, I
will not share a lab with Spike.
Do I want to know who that is?
(SIGHS) Spike is the CID's
version of me,
except he keeps his lab
at a crisp 58 degrees
and plays jazz music all day long.
What do you have against jazz?
Oh, no, I'm not talking Miles Davis jazz
or Coltrane jazz.
I'm talking elevator music jazz.
Hold music jazz.
That's not jazz.
That's a that's a crime.
And not the one I'm interested in.
Right. Well, I may not have access
to CID's evidence against Ryan Harper,
but I do have access
to his social media,
and that tells a story all on its own.
Specifically, about a dead guy
in his living room.
His name is Sergeant Joseph Yates,
and he's all over Harper's socials.
What's Valor House?
Oh, Valor House is the charity
that Yates and Harper
started to help wounded veterans
when they hit hard times.
These guys put every minute
of their lives into Valor House.
Yeah, until Yates ended up with
Harper's samurai sword in him.
Technically, that evidence is
still circumstantial, but again,
my ability to dig is limited.
There must be somebody
that we can talk to.
Thankfully, there is.
Harper has a girlfriend.
Amanda Adams.
They've been dating
for about three months,
and she spent as much time
with Harper as Yates did.
In fact, the three of them
all seemed pretty close.
Amanda might be able to tell us more
about what happened between these two.
All right, send her info to Knight,
and keep looking into this charity.
As long as I can do it from my warm
and jazz-free lab.
KNIGHT: Amanda?
How's Ryan doing?
Stable, they say, but
the chaplain's still on standby.
They have a lot of great doctors here.
If you're with CID, I'm not
answering any more questions.
No, I'm not. I'm Jessica Knight,
with NCIS.
Jessica Knight, um
Ryan talked about you.
Said you used to have
Sunday dinners at his mom's.
(CHUCKLES) Yeah. We did.
Also said that you were
the reason he joined the Army.
Said you inspired him to serve.
Yeah.
I should have kept
in better touch with him.
Amanda, I'm trying to figure out
what led Ryan to that warehouse.
Because the Ryan that I knew
was thoughtful
and level-headed.
Everything was fine,
until a few weeks ago.
He noticed something weird
with the charity's bank account.
Weird how?
Money was missing.
From Valor House.
Ryan couldn't figure out
how it disappeared.
He started obsessing.
Well, it makes sense
that he'd be concerned.
It was more than concern.
He got paranoid.
First, about the money,
then other things.
Look
Ryan wasn't crazy.
Yes, he was agitated, on edge, but
that doesn't make him a killer.
Of course not.
Can I ask you about Sergeant Yates?
Did he have access to the bank account?
I don't know.
They ran the charity together.
Is it possible that Ryan
confronted him about this?
Things got heated?
I told you, Ryan's not a murderer.
If you knew him, you'd know that.
- Amanda
- (SCOFFS)
I promise you
that I will do everything that
I can to find out the truth.
So, girlfriend was right.
Lot of money disappeared
from the charity.
Transferred to Bitcoin accounts?
Good luck tracking that.
Mm-hmm.
I guess, if your best buddy
was stealing from your charity,
it might make you
"stab with a sword" mad.
Well, Harper's girlfriend
said he was paranoid.
- Confirms CID's theory.
- Well, we have no idea
what Harper and Yates were really up to,
let alone a motive for murder.
Think I found a video online
here that might help.
I crowdsourced social platforms
looking for recent images
of Harper or Yates.
Came across this.
Trail mix with pretzels.
Um, are we watching the right video?
Yup. From the user "TheCalmCamouflage."
The guy posts Army-themed ASMR content.
MSM, uh, what?
Autonomous sensory meridian response.
Audio stimuli that, uh, results
in a tingling sensation in the
back of the head. Whispering,
- tapping.
- MCGEE: All right.
Ignore the guy on the microphone.
Look who is behind him.
Harper and Yates.
Except all I hear is the wrapper.
Yeah, we might not be able to hear them,
but a couple years ago, I created
a lip-reading program
as a birthday present for Abby.
That is an oddly specific present.
Anyway, I ran this video
through my program.
Look what it came up with.
Hey, I'm freaking out.
I don't know what to do.
YATES COMPUTER VOICE:
It's okay, man. Hey, I got you.
But this-this could blow back on me.
I'm gonna talk to Matt.
He'll handle everything.
Unfortunately, that is where
the wrapper-wrinkling ends.
"Handle everything"?
As in the missing money?
Yeah, that's what it sounds like.
Which means Harper wasn't
accusing Yates of stealing the money.
He was asking for help to find it.
Help from Matt.
Do we have any idea who that is?
I do. I have Yates' cell records.
How were you able to pull phone records?
Courtesy of my contact
at the phone company.
The last call Yates made
before he died was to a cell phone
belonging to Matthew Malone.
As in Army Major Malone from CID?
Major Malone, who ordered
his sniper to shoot Harper?
- Yes and yes.
- All right, let me get this straight,
these two friends discover this
stolen money
and then they went to report it to CID?
MCGEE: And the next day, one of them
turns up dead, and the other one?
- Shot by CID.
- Well, makes you wonder
if, uh, they discovered a crime
that Malone didn't want
anyone to look into.
Harper didn't trust CID.
He made that very clear.
And before you could find out
why, Malone shut him up.
I think it's time we have a talk
with Major Malone.
-I think someone's gonna have to
-(PHONE BEEPS)
break the news to Vance.
He may already know.
Vance wants me and Knight
in his office, now.
(CLEARS THROAT SOFTLY)
I just got off the phone
with the director of CID.
Apparently, there's a secondary
investigation underway.
Something they thought
I should be made aware of.
And it involves your team.
Well, we were coming here
to loop you in.
We've been following a lead.
One that may involve a CID agent
tied to a financial coverup.
Specifically, Major Malone.
Good to know.
But that's not the investigation
that I'm talking about.
Does the name Roland Massi
mean anything to you?
He's the drug dealer that Harper
helped take down, but
Massi's serving 50 to life,
so what's there to investigate?
The investigation's not about him.
It's about you, Agent Knight.
I'm sorry, what?
CID is placing you under review.
Your security clearance
has been suspended.
Effective immediately.
Roland Massi owned
a series of bars and clubs
across Virginia
catering to service members.
Served drinks in the front,
cocaine in the back.
It was one of the largest
drug operations
in the commonwealth's history.
Until seven years ago,
when the NCIS REACT team and I
took it all down.
Well, now Massi's
serving life in prison.
It's a big win for NCIS.
None of this would have been
possible without Ryan Harper.
He was just a kid.
He was seduced by Massi's offer
of fast cash,
realized it was plain wrong.
So, he cooperated with Knight
and turned his life around.
Okay, but why would Malone
be sniffing around
a successful seven-year-old bust?
Well, either he thinks
Knight did something wrong
Or it's a bluff.
To take our eyes off Malone
and the missing money.
Is there anything else
about Massi's operation
that we should know about?
Everything you need to know
is in that file.
I stand by it.
CID comes at one of ours,
we don't wait around playing defense.
We show them that this
investigation isn't about Knight,
it's about Malone, and we prove it
before they bury the evidence.
CID blindsided Knight the moment
that we connected Malone
with our victim.
That is not a coincidence.
This whole case
revolves around that dead
body in Harper's living room.
MCGEE: All right,
so we solve the murder,
we hopefully clear Harper,
and we definitely
get CID off Knight's back.
And, uh, someone needs to make sure
that Vance stays off of ours.
VANCE: Yes, absolutely.
Thank you.
That was my third call with
the CID director since breakfast.
I'm not looking for a fourth.
- That's the job.
- Mine, yes.
Right now, I'm more worried
about Agent Knight's.
Well, then we're on the same page.
Are we?
You said that you were investigating
a CID agent,
and now CID is digging into one of ours.
The last thing that we need
is a turf war.
Because of the rumors they're folding.
Yes. CID won't go down without a fight.
They need a win,
any way they can get it.
Even at Knight's expense.
CID is under the spotlight,
and they need to get it off them fast.
Taking down an NCIS agent
that's high-profile.
Suddenly, the spotlight is on us.
I don't care about the spotlight.
I care that Knight's
being used as a scapegoat.
I wish it were that simple, Parker.
But according to the CID director,
whatever they have
on Agent Knight is substantial.
Major Malone is on his way over
to interview her now.
Okay, so how do we stop him?
- We don't. He's within his rights.
- So, what
we just let Knight take the hit?
I said we can't stop Major
Malone from questioning Knight.
I never said that we were giving up.
I'm trying to protect my agent.
So am I.
Which is why I made sure that
Knight is being questioned here,
on our turf, not theirs.
And more importantly
why I had CID hand over this.
Crime scene report from
Sergeant Harper's apartment?
Thank you.
Parker.
If you're gonna prove that
Harper's not a murderer, do it fast.
But please be warned,
CID is a drowning man.
Drowning man doesn't care
who he pulls under with him.
(DOOR OPENS)
Kasie?
(KASIE EXCLAIMING)
Uh, Kasie, you okay?
(SHOUTS)
Kasie?
Wait, McGee, wait, watch out for the
(GROANS) paint.
That's, uh, that's great.
My shoes are now the same color
as the squad room.
Yeah, my forensic supplies
are backordered,
so I had to raid building maintenance.
- Well, this place is a total mess.
- Hey. You see a mess,
but I see geometry.
Because every slash
and stab creates a mathematical
pattern that tells a story.
Yeah, a story with, uh,
not a very happy ending.
Mm. Depends on how you look at it.
I am matching my demonstration
to the crime scene photos from
Sergeant Harper's apartment,
and I finally got it right.
What do you notice in these photos?
Well, uh
Well, there's blood everywhere. I mean,
it's on the floor, it's on the walls,
even the ceiling.
Ah, you almost got it right.
Most of the blood
is on half of the floor,
the walls, the ceiling.
Right. Murderer swings the sword,
blood spatters in the
direction of the swing.
Exactly.
I'm right-handed,
so when I swing the sword,
paint goes on the left side of the room,
just like in the crime scene photos.
Okay.
Killer is right-handed,
you are right-handed.
- Mm-hmm.
- As is 90% of the population.
Unless Sergeant Harper is left-handed.
Ding, ding, ding. Not only that,
but judging by the angle of the swings,
the killer was also
significantly shorter
than Harper as well.
Harper didn't kill his friend.
Bingo. CID's got the wrong man.
- (PHONE TRILLING)
- Ooh.
It's Parker.
Major Malone just got here
to interrogate Knight.
This evidence will show Malone
how wrong he is about Harper.
- Ladies first.
- You're the guest.
No, I insist.
Hm.
You got to be kidding me.
Well, it's my interview.
It's my interrogation room.
How about a compromise?
You got a pitch?
(CLEARS THROAT)
I might as well start us off.
Actually, you know what? I'll start.
Ladies first, right?
(SOFT CHUCKLE)
What the hell. I got nothing to hide.
Mm. Except that you were the last person
to speak to our murder victim.
I didn't hide that.
You didn't disclose it to me
at the standoff.
I had my hands full.
And it wasn't your business.
Oh.
Sergeant Yates called
about suspicious activity
with the charity's accounts.
We were gonna meet
in the morning, but, uh,
well, he's dead.
So, you accused Harper of murdering him
and had your sniper take him down.
I stand by my actions.
I believe Harper was a threat
to himself and others.
I made a judgment call.
The wrong judgment call.
Because Harper didn't kill that guy.
He's innocent.
Mm, you're half-right.
He didn't kill the guy.
You know?
Sure. Harper's left-handed.
The killer was right-handed.
Which means you don't have a case,
so what are we doing here?
Harper didn't swing the sword but
oh, he was far from innocent.
Now, while NCIS was playing
gotcha with yesterday's clues,
CID was actively pursuing fresh ones.
Harper's tox report came back.
He was hopped up on cocaine,
which explains
his erratic behavior yesterday.
Explained even more when
we searched his charity office.
Found phones, drug-mixing paraphernalia,
and
six kilos of product.
Your pal Harper wasn't just using,
he was dealing.
That missing charity money
he was laundering it.
And when Yates found out,
Harper had him killed.
How is this even possible?
I've been asking myself the same thing.
I'd say you made it possible,
Agent Knight.
Ryan Harper never intended
to go straight seven years ago.
He was just biding his time.
Harper was the reason
we took down Roland Massi.
Mm, sure. I mean,
he was trying to survive.
Oh.
Harper helps you get rid of Massi.
Then you expunge his record,
which allowed him to join the Army.
Where he builds a brand-new
drug ring, all his own.
This is ridiculous.
Or are you so busy trying to prove
how I screwed up, that (CHUCKLES)
you can't even see your own mess?
Even if you can't see it
everyone else will.
Now, this graduation photo is
going on the cover of my report
to the inspector general.
Let's hope it doesn't make
the cover of the Evening Post.
Way I see it,
you were either in on all this
with Harper from the beginning
or you got played.
(SCOFFS) For me,
I'd rather be a criminal than a fool.
Knight has been there for a long time.
Nobody's called for a medic yet.
Is that good or bad?
TORRES: Hey, Knight.
How'd it go in there?
Uh, still sorting that out.
You, uh, want to give us the headline?
Actually, that's what
I'm trying to avoid.
(DOOR OPENS)
Agent Knight, there something
I can do for you?
I got it wrong.
If this is about the case,
I'm sure it's something we can work out.
Not this time.
I thought I was making
a difference in someone's life.
But I just let myself get used.
If CID wants
to make themselves look good
by taking me down, fine,
but I won't let them
take NCIS down with me.
My mistake.
I own it.
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
Agent Parker.
Can I help you?
Called you twice, no answer.
I'm aware.
Convenient.
Knight's resignation
took the spotlight off NCIS.
That's, uh, that's what you wanted.
You think I wanted
Agent Knight to resign?
I think you let her.
She didn't exactly invite a discussion.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a call.
She's being steamrolled, Leon. We can't
just sit back and watch it happen.
My hands are tied, Parker.
What would you have me do?
Well, you can start
by blowing off your call
and showing me you give a damn!
Not every part of my job
is up for public consumption.
I'm the public now?
Excuse me, Agent Parker.
Parker, you're good?
Any word from Knight since she left?
Radio silence.
Yeah.
Major Malone is a major pain in the ass.
- No argument here.
- MCGEE: She made a call
that any one of us would have made.
Helping an informant
expunge their record?
Restorative justice 101.
I wouldn't be standing here if someone
didn't give me a second chance
when I was 18.
Right, but you became a cop.
CID says that Harper became a drug lord.
CID's evidence was enough
to make Knight believe
that she got played.
And if it's true,
that's not just a black mark,
that's a career-ender.
All right, but we all know
Jessica Knight.
Do we really think she got played?
All right, if we're gonna
save Knight, we need
to tear down CID's case, find the holes,
prove that Harper was no drug lord.
Before CID goes public.
MCGEE: Well,
I've got something that may help.
I've been reviewing
the interview footage
from Knight's interview with Malone.
He may not have as much evidence
as he claims. Take a look.
Why is the table turned sideways?
Neither of them would agree
on who was interviewing who.
Compromise?
Or Knight knew we might want
a view of Malone's files,
including the drug analysis
on the cocaine CID seized.
- Bad analysis?
- No, bad drugs.
Compound contains
less than 15% cocaine hydrochloride.
Whereas street cocaine
comes in about 60%.
And about 90% for the pure stuff.
Yeah, this was just enough
to pop positive
on a forensics analysis.
The rest is baby laxatives.
So Harper was trying to move
faulty product?
Or maybe he's not trying to move
any product at all.
It's an old cartel trick. They grab
a small amount of the pure stuff,
and you mix it with the junk
to make it look like a large amount,
and then they plant it.
All right, who do we think
Harper's being set up by?
Bad cops plant drugs, too.
You really think Malone
would go that far?
More than I believe, uh, Knight
helped create a drug lord.
All right, how do we prove it?
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
Now, I'm not one to comment on
interpersonal dynamics at work.
- You're not?
- Fine, I do it all the time,
but some people need to be reminded
that we're all team NCIS,
and when friends argue,
they need to hug.
I'm not hugging Director Vance.
Tell me you got something.
Like holes in CID's case?
Then you're in luck, because
this major drug operation
looks like Swiss cheese.
For starters, the high-ticket items
seized from the garage
cost about $250,000,
which is almost the exact amount
- missing from Harper's charity.
- Right, suggesting
that the stolen charity money
paid for the stuff, not drug money.
Correct. Now, CID claims that
the charity was being used
to launder money,
but that's impossible because
there were no illicit funds
being run through the charity.
There are no drug sales at all.
I ran the numbers from the
burner phones that CID seized.
They're full of coded messages
that look like drug deals from The Wire.
- Fake messages?
- Uh, real messages.
Fake deals. Someone used a bot program
to make these phones call each other.
So, no buyers, no profits, no operation.
Just an elaborate frame job
designed to fool CID
and get Harper put away.
Yeah, unless CID was in on it.
Malone takes drugs from the
evidence locker, plants them.
There's no way that these drugs
came from CID evidence locker.
I ran the drug analysis
through the DEA's database. They keep
a index of all narcotics
seized from all agencies.
CID never seized
this specific blend of cocaine,
but NCIS did, seven years ago.
When Knight took down
Massi's organization.
This compound was dealt
exclusively by Massi's crew,
until the entire operation
was dismantled
and the drugs were destroyed.
Are you saying that somebody
from Massi's organization
are using seven-year-old drugs
to frame Harper?
Kinda, except Massi's already in jail,
and everyone from his organization
is either with him or dead.
- So who'd want revenge?
- Well, we need to
figure that out, and fast.
Because if this is about payback,
Knight could be next on the list.
- (PHONE VIBRATES)
- (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(SIGHS)
I didn't want to wake you.
How long have you been here?
Just a few hours. I wanted to
be here when Ryan woke up.
That's sweet.
It's not, actually.
Turns out he's been playing both of us.
And I want answers.
Played us? How?
Ryan's charity is a front
for a major drug ring.
That's why he killed his friend.
No.
Can't be.
I'm afraid so.
The man that we thought we knew
he's a lie.
Special Agent Knight.
Malone. You here to gloat?
Actually, I'm here for your bag.
You come for my job and my agency.
Now you want my bag?
I'm not giving you anything
without a search warrant.
Wow. That is a lot of trouble
for a sweatpants and a bottle of water.
The bag.
(SCOFFS)
Agent Knight.
I can't believe it.
Me either.
This actually worked.
I told you. She wouldn't
be able to stop herself.
What the hell are you talking about?
This is a sting, Amanda.
We played you,
just like you played Ryan.
There's cameras all down this hallway.
You slipped the drugs into Knight's bag
when she was, uh, sleeping.
The final piece of your revenge,
and this piece just
fell right into your lap.
Revenge? For what?
You're Roland Massi's daughter.
So what?
He's rotting away in prison.
I'm trying to move on.
That must have been hard.
Doors slamming in your face
because of the Massi name.
So, you changed your name,
your look,
tried to start a new life.
But that wasn't enough, because the man
who destroyed your family
was still alive.
And that's when
you went looking for Harper.
Got him to fall for you, to trust you,
then you set him up.
Drugs, murder. It almost worked.
Until he barricaded himself
in a warehouse
and made one request.
He called me.
And now you'll serve 50 to life.
Just like dad.
Jess?
I'm here.
Well, welcome back. We've missed you.
I've only been gone for a day.
Well, it felt like a day and a half.
Security clearance been reinstated.
MCGEE: We got Amanda on everything.
Murder,
spiking Harper's protein shake
with cocaine, all of it.
I'm surprised you got Malone
on our side.
He was ready to hang me out to dry.
TORRES: Well,
you should have seen his face
when we told him that
Amanda was Massi's daughter.
(CHUCKLES)
Well, I guess the important part
is that Harper's cleared,
- recovering.
- TORRES: And hey,
he turned his life around
because of you.
I guess I shouldn't have doubted myself.
That's okay. We never did.
MCGEE: Oh.
Speaking of, uh, second chances
Agent Knight. Quick word?
They're not thrilled to see me.
They know we're friends now, right?
Is that what we are?
I'm here to clear the deck.
I got a reputation as a hard-charger,
but I own my mistakes.
I misread some things. That's on me.
You're forgiven.
I wasn't asking for forgiveness.
But I guess sometimes we forget.
This job's not just about
kicking down doors.
It's about lifting people up.
Yeah, it is.
Oh, we don't validate parking, so
I couldn't resist.
It's got my personal cell on the back.
Are you hoping for a date?
Uh, no, ma'am.
I'm hoping for a job.
I'm sure you've heard the rumors.
I'll put in a good word for you.