NCIS s24e05 Episode Script

1
(COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYING)
(SPEAKING MANDARIN)
Troy!
- What?
- Got a customer.
Oh. Hey. How you doing, kid?
Uh, the-the popcorn?
(STAMMERS) Take it.
It's on the house. All right.
- (DOOR OPENS)
- (ENTRY BELL JINGLES)
Mom, can we go home now?
Why, baby? What's wrong?
Nothing. I'm just tired.
Yeah, okay.
Looks like Sully's not coming anyway.
Let's go home.
Yeah?
Come on.
(GROANS LOUDLY)
(STRAINED COUGHING)
(GROANS GUTTURALLY)
Talk, Sullivan. Who sent you?!
(SNIFFLES)
(MUTTERS)
(MUFFLED GROANING)
♪
(MUTTERING):
Therefore, what I would ask
Would it be "therefore"? Thus.
- Thus
- TORRES: Uh-oh.
McGee's mumbling again.
I'm not mumbling. I'm writing.
And good morning.
- Still perfecting that speech?
- Well, "perfecting"
is a big word, but, yeah,
I mean, this is my only shot
at getting Mateo's sentence
reduced at tomorrow's hearing.
KNIGHT: I still can't believe
he's facing any time at all.
I mean, those kidnappers
were clearly blackmailing him.
Blackmail or not,
he could still get ten years
for hacking the NCIS database.
I mean, I agree, yeah,
there needs to be consequences,
but come on.
This is a decade of his life.
Yeah, so this speech has got to be good.
No, the speech has to be great.
Which is exactly why I emailed
all of you last night
so you could, you know,
take a look at it
give me notes.
Anyone read it?
Got notes for me, or?
- No?
- TORRES: Uh, you know what, man?
I think I I think
I passed out kind of early,
and I think I missed it,
but I can get to it right now.
Yeah, I saw it
pretty late myself, but I
I think you made some good points.
Great points. And very well-written.
PARKER: Oh, of course.
That goes without saying.
Extremely well-written.
But I'm sensing a "but."
What but? No buts.
- No, not from me. But-but
- (PHONES CHIMING)
But nothing. Duty calls.
Got a dead Marine in Silver Spring.
Yeah, you know, I'd still really
like to know what you guys think.
What I think is, you are a great dad.
The best dad.
So I'll give it another read,
and I'll get back to you.
- KNIGHT: Yeah, me, too.
- TORRES: Yeah, me three.
If I can find it.
My emails are acting weird.
MCGEE: Hmm.
KNIGHT: It's not like it's a bad speech.
Not at all. It reads fine.
Yeah, but is fine good enough
to get a judge
to reduce Mateo's sentence?
KNIGHT: It's the mitigating
circumstances stuff.
It's so formal.
Yeah, and all that, uh, that
"young man led astray" stuff.
That's way too sappy.
All right, too formal,
too sappy, too much.
Would you all mind saving
your speech reviews
until I've had a chance to read it?
- Okay, thanks.
- Also, McGee is on your six.
(INDISTINCT RADIO TRANSMISSION)
All right, victim has been ID'd
as Sergeant Michael Sullivan,
34, stationed
at Marine Barracks Washington.
Bus driver that discovered him
also found this under the bench.
It's a cell phone.
JIMMY: Yeah, poor driver must've thought
he was just waking up a
sleeping commuter when he
- Whoa!
- Whoa!
- Hey. Ow.
- Hello.
Oh, man, what is that?
Let's see. It's clear.
(SNIFFS) There's no scent.
Uh, maybe just water
coming out of his trachea, nasal cavity.
- What, like, he drowned?
- At a bus stop?
No, I'm afraid it's worse than
that with these bloody bruises,
ligatures around his wrists, so
it's more likely that he was
- Waterboarded.
- Much as I hate to say it.
It's not like they went to
much trouble to hide the body.
They wanted him to be found.
TORRES: Yeah, they definitely
were sending a message, but to who?
Uh, maybe Monica.
No last name,
but she was the last three calls
to Sullivan yesterday afternoon.
All right, let's see if the
number gives us her full name.
Yes. Monica also left a
voicemail after the third call.
MONICA:
Hey, Sully, I got your messages.
I'll meet you over there at 5:00.
Just be careful, okay?
Please?
Meet him over where?
And be careful from what?
- Whoever did that to him.
- Bet Monica knows.
Got her full name and address.
Monica Sims, 36 Tompkins Street,
Silver Spring, Maryland.
KNIGHT: If this Monica met
up with our victim, I sure hope
- she didn't end up like him.
- Yeah.
For now let's just hope she's home.
I think we should be honest
with McGee about his speech.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.
But with the, uh,
the hearing tomorrow morning,
you don't want to rattle his confidence.
Build him up. Absolutely.
Yeah. It's just a matter
of finding the right words
- to tell him that
- He hasn't found the right words?
Yet.
(KNOCKING)
(CLATTERING INSIDE)
Someone's not answering.
NCIS! Monica Sims?!
(GLASS SHATTERS)
Or trying to get away.
NCIS!
Looks like Monica has a kid.
PARKER: Hello? Monica? Anyone?
KNIGHT: Clear.
PARKER: Clear.
Is that our victim?
Doesn't look like him.
I'm gonna try calling her number.
(DIALING)
(PHONE RINGING)
Hi.
It's-it's okay.
We're not gonna hurt you.
KNIGHT: Um,
my name's Jess.
What's yours?
Are you Chloe?
That's a beautiful name.
You're all right, Chloe.
We're the police.
We're here to help, okay?
My mom told me to call you.
Why call us?
But I was too scared.
Where is your mom?
Gone.
Since when?
Last night.
Um, hey, Chloe,
why don't you come out of there?
It can't be too comfortable.
Okay. Yeah.
We're gonna find your mom.
Okay, Knight's got the kid down
at Kasie's,
calling Child Services.
Hmm. Did this kid give you her name?
Yeah, Chloe.
Uh, last name Sims, like her
mother. Seven years old.
She and Mom went
to meet Mom's friend Sully
at the store late yesterday.
- Our victim Sullivan.
- Yeah, who never showed up.
So they walked home and had pizza.
And middle of the night, Mom wakes up,
gives Chloe her cell,
and tells her to call 911
if she's not back in an hour.
That's how many hours ago?
Uh, at least seven, give or take.
- Still no sign of Mom.
- What do we know about her?
We know she's no ordinary mom.
Former Marine Staff Sergeant
Monica Sims.
She served three tours in
Afghanistan with Sullivan's unit,
before receiving a hardship
discharge two years ago.
- What hardship?
- Family welfare.
Husband Paul Sims was killed
shortly before then in a car accident.
Ah, that explains whose photos
were taped to the fridge.
TORRES: Did Chloe say what store
they were walking back from yesterday?
Yeah, she called it "the clown store."
The name's not listed anywhere,
and she couldn't help us find it, but
apparently it's where
Chloe "buys her snacks."
So, a convenience store.
Yeah, narrows it down a little bit.
Well, if it's within walking
distance of the apartment
- I bet we can find it.
- All right, grab a warrant,
keep me posted. I'm gonna check
on our victim with Jimmy.
(TYPES)
KASIE: Call me back if anything changes,
okay?
Thank you.
Do you want the good news
or the bad news?
- KNIGHT: Uh, dealer's choice.
- Well,
the bad news is,
Child Protective Services
can't get anyone out here until tonight,
possibly tomorrow.
KNIGHT: So she's with us till then.
Well, the good news is,
she's so darn cute.
Though I haven't talked to
anyone shorter than me in years.
Are seven-year-olds usually this quiet?
Not that I know of.
My niece was a chatterbox by this age.
But Chloe's barely said a word
since she left that apartment.
She's probably traumatized after
her mom left her all alone.
Or maybe she's just shy.
Parker told me about our guest.
Not talking, huh?
No. Any tips, Superdad?
May have a few tricks up my sleeve.
Though, with seven-year-olds,
we might not be able to get her
to stop talking once I get her started.
If it helps us find her mom,
I am all for it.
Work your magic, oh, wise one.
(LAUGHS SOFTLY, CLEARS THROAT)
Good day, milady.
I don't talk to strangers.
(CLEARS THROAT)
KASIE: Hmm.
So much for magic.
Well, I did get her to start talking.
"Good day, milady."
- Okay.
- (KNIGHT LAUGHING)
Look, Nick, I'm not asking
for, like, a full-fledged review here.
I just want to know if you think
my speech will work.
Of course it will work, man.
What judge can resist your honesty,
your sincerity, your
- Clown.
- My clown?
No, I think we found the clown store.
Sign says open, but no luck.
TORRES: Hmm.
Let's go check around the back.
Door was barely closed.
Somebody left in a hurry.
NCIS! Search warrant!
You smell, like, bleach?
Sure sign of a hasty cleanup.
TORRES: Well, maybe too hasty.
A piece of rope.
I think there's a little
dried blood in here.
You want to bet it's Sullivan's?
Clown store has seen better days.
And this is the head clown.
He's got some explaining to do.
Now all we got to do is find him.
Well that might help.
MCGEE: It's a pretty
old security system.
Yeah, like everything else
in that place.
That's our owner. Troy Tepikian.
And no sign of him or
anyone else when we got there.
And business is hardly booming.
TORRES: Hey, McGee,
stop right there.
Can you go back real quick?
And that's our victim.
Sure is. Gunny Sullivan,
still alive and well.
TORRES: And there goes Troy
leading him right into our crime scene.
- Looks like we found our killer.
- PARKER: Yeah.
And the longer they're in there,
the guiltier Troy looks.
Oh, hold on.
We got another customer here.
That's our girl Chloe.
Wait, wait, wait. Who the hell is that?
PARKER: McGee, can you, uh, can you
- screen-grab them?
- MCGEE: Well,
just one of 'em but not very cleanly.
TORRES: And here comes Troy again.
Without Gunny Sullivan.
That's it, Chloe. Get out of there.
- Okay, then.
- MCGEE: I guess
Troy is not our killer?
Anything you remember, Chloe,
could really help us.
That's right. Just anything at all.
Do you know those two guys?
What about that guy? Do you know him?
Yeah. That's the clown store guy.
What's he saying to you there?
He gave me that popcorn for free.
Back to, uh, these two men again.
They look like they're arguing.
Do you remember what they were saying?
I remember they were Chinese.
Or maybe Japanese or Korean?
No, it was Chinese.
KNIGHT: You mean, like
(SPEAKING MANDARIN)
Chloe, do you speak Mandarin?
Chloe, um
So who taught you how to speak Mandarin?
- My dad.
- Mine, too.
Your dad's dead, too?
No, mine is, um
I'm sorry to hear about your dad.
I'm sorry, too, Chloe.
But these two men here
did your mom know about them?
I wish she didn't.
So she saw them, too?
No, I told her.
I wasn't gonna,
but then I had a bad dream
about those men
and what they were saying.
Maybe if I didn't tell her about them,
she wouldn't have left.
Chloe, your mom didn't leave
because of you.
And we are gonna find her, believe me.
PARKER: So, um,
what did they say exactly?
They said something like
(SPEAKS MANDARIN)
"If the military man
doesn't talk, he dies."
Gunny Sullivan.
You mean Sully?
That's my mom's friend.
PARKER: Uh, yeah.
Yeah, that's right.
Um, he was a very good friend.
But he wasn't there.
So what else did those guys say?
They said something like
(SPEAKS MANDARIN)
"Then we'll handle Lóngtóu."
What's Lóngtóu?
That translates to "dragon head."
In Chinese gang culture,
it's what the Triads use
to refer to their leader.
Chinese Mafia.
Mm-hmm. So Lóngtóu basically
means a mob boss.
Uh, can you give us a second, Chloe?
What the hell got
Sullivan and Monica mixed up
with Chinese gangs?
I always thought they were more
of a New York thing,
but they, they could be
making a move south.
Well, I could have
the New York office send us
their Chinese gang database.
Maybe we could show Chloe,
see if, uh, any of the mug shots
ring a bell.
I don't know.
She's already been through so much
without us making her look
at gangster faces.
CHLOE: No, I haven't.
I'd know those guys if I saw them again.
Are you sure?
You heard her, Kase.
Uh, let's get that New York database
- as soon as we can.
- It'll only take a minute.
(TYPING)
In the meantime, are you hungry?
Do you want to go down to the Commons,
we can get a muffin or a matcha?
My mom says
I'm too young for matcha, but
you got any popcorn?
(LAUGHS) Hmm.
So your boss really lets you use
his machine whenever you want?
Not only is he very generous that way,
but Mrs. Boss has asked me
to watch his intake.
So you and I are doing a very good deed
by depleting his supply.
(COMPUTER CHIMES)
Those are the mug shots from Kasie.
Okay.
Okay. Are you sure you're up for this?
Why not? It's just people.
Okay.
(TAPS KEYS)
We can stop any time you want.
No. I want to find my mom.
Okay.
So, does Mom speak Mandarin, too?
No, just Dad.
Mom always thought
we were talking about her.
(LAUGHS) My mom thought the same thing.
Okay, uh
So your dad was Chinese, too?
- Still is.
- Mine was only half.
But he wanted to pass
his mom's language onto me.
Same again.
You know, my dad and I still speak it
every single time we talk,
which isn't really often enough.
So, what about your mom and Sully?
Do they talk a lot?
(POPCORN POPPING)
That means it's ready!
(LAUGHS):
Okay. Well, uh, I will get that,
and you stay here, and you keep
looking at these scary photos.
PARKER: Give me my usual,
Audrey, and, uh,
I guess whatever you'd make
for a seven-year-old girl?
I've got 17 varieties
of matcha back here.
Take your pick.
Actually, matcha, no.
Um anything else,
just something good.
That narrows it down. Hang tight.
Hey, so I got some, uh, fresh intel
on our victim Sullivan
that may be of interest.
Oh, you had me at intel.
Seems that he overcame
a rough childhood.
He ran with a street gang,
turned his life around
when he joined the Marines.
Then he became, uh, kind of,
um, an anti-gang ambassador.
Worked with youth programs,
- community outreach.
- Yeah, which may have
put him in the path of our Chinese gang?
Yeah. That and his friend Monica.
Turns out that
the accident that killed her
husband Paul was actually
two gangbangers speeding away
from a drive-by shooting.
Poor dude just picked the
wrong time to cross the street.
Yeah, which I'm sure gave Monica
plenty of gang issues of her own.
Well, that makes two of us.
- What do you got?
- So, I showed these guys
to some business owners
near the clown store.
And they were afraid to talk,
but I got some to admit
that they were being
- shaken down for protection money.
- Protection from who?
Whatever Chinese gang
these guys are a part of.
No one was willing to name names.
- Or willing to go to the police?
- Yeah, they think it's too risky.
And they'd rather pay
than ask for trouble.
One usual and one iced coconut
chai latte for a seven-year-old.
Thanks, Audrey, and, oh, uh,
just take care of my friends here.
Just matchas are on me.
Thanks, Parker, but, uh
Matchas?
Got 17 varieties back here.
Name your matcha.
Just the guy we're looking for.
Glad to be found.
Chloe, I got you a, uh,
iced coconut something,
if you're interested.
- Yes, please. Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Yeah, she needs it to wash down
all of that popcorn.
Hey, Chloe, would you mind
waiting at the desk?
I'll be over there in a minute.
So, um, how'd it go with the mug shots?
Uh, no luck.
She didn't recognize anyone.
- How about you?
- Looks like Monica and Sullivan
both had personal reasons
to want to take down this gang.
KNIGHT: Hmm, 'cause gangs
love when you try taking them down.
PARKER: Oh, yeah, they love that.
Parker, we really need to find her.
Monica's all Chloe has left.
Where'd she go?
Uh
(KNIGHT SIGHS)
Chloe, don't disappear on me like that.
- What is it?
- PARKER: I remember that shot.
It's from the, uh,
smuggling bust with MPD
about three years ago.
Him.
What? Who?
CHLOE: From the clown store.
That's one of the guys.
It kind of looks like one of 'em, but
it's a D.C. cop. He's a detective.
That's him.
I know it is.
MCGEE: Detective Thomas Lau.
- Retired from Metro PD last year.
- PARKER: Look,
no disrespect to Chloe,
but we got to be sure.
This guy was a veteran cop.
He retires, and a year later
he's running around,
waterboarding people?
Sure, a veteran
but, uh, not a very good one
according to his exit review.
(PHONE RINGING)
Oh, this is my D.C. cop buddy
- calling back. You guys keep talking.
- Yeah.
- Hey.
- Now, Lau was reprimanded
six times for excessive force
and twice for drinking on the job,
all in his last three years of duty.
Not exactly going out on a high note.
Oh, no. No, apparently,
things were so bad
that he was facing dismissal
and opted for early retirement instead.
Thanks.
Well, he is retired permanently.
Cops just found Thomas Lau
stabbed to death in his car.
First of all, we have
this very telling stab wound
just below Detective Lau's rib cage,
next to his existing surgical scar.
- Telling as in cause of death?
- Well, that
and the pattern matches
a standard-issue Marine Corps knife.
Also, if you look closely at
the bruising around the wound,
it indicates that the knife
was thrust in up to the hilt,
much the way
that Marines are trained to do.
Which would imply that Chloe's mother
might not only be alive but
- Also a vigilante?
- Out to avenge
her husband's death?
It's certainly a possibility.
Anything else telling?
I don't know about telling,
but this is curious.
Look at this tattoo
of a dragon's head here.
Didn't you translate a word for Chloe
- with the same meaning?
- KNIGHT: Yeah.
Lóngtóu,
which means "dragon head."
- Or head of a crime family?
- MCGEE: These symbols here
- does that say the same thing or?
- KNIGHT: Part of it.
The second word is dragon,
and that first word is ghost.
Ghost Dragons.
Is that, uh, what, a gang name?
Let me check our database.
Hmm.
Okay, is it just me,
but does this tattoo look
really bright and new?
Yeah, I was gonna say the same thing.
It couldn't be more than a,
a couple weeks old, tops.
So, if this guy is a new
Ghost Dragons member
That's a pretty quick ascension
to their mob boss.
All right, here it is. Ghost Dragons.
One of several branches
of China's Triad,
- operates out of Baltimore.
- KNIGHT: Torres and Parker
are already showing his photo
around Silver Spring.
Well, it's a short hop to Baltimore.
I'll make the call.
JIMMY: So, Tim, you excited
for tomorrow morning's Mateo hearing?
Well, I don't know if I'd,
uh, say excited, but
- Hmm.
- Oh, wait. Did I?
Did I not ask you about my speech?
No, you did not, and I loved it.
- Really?
- No.
Uh, but what I loved
was, uh, the effort.
The delivery I found to be sort of, um,
dry, wordy and way too technical.
- See? I knew it.
- I had a feeling you did.
Had a feeling everyone else did, too,
but they were being too nice to tell me.
Yeah, sometimes honesty's not nice.
No, it's not, but you know what?
I don't need nice right now.
What I need is help.
I just I can't seem
to find the right words to
- you know, say what I want to say.
- Okay.
All right, well, then, uh, just say it.
What is it you want most for Mateo?
I mean, it's simple.
I want him to have a chance
to turn his life around.
Then just keep it that simple.
And with the speech, maybe
approach it less as a writer,
more as a dad.
Thanks.
MAN: Watch these guys here.
These two spots they haven't paid.
- Same thing down that way
- PARKER: Excuse me,
gentlemen.
NCIS.
- We just need a moment.
- Any of you know this guy?
And why would we tell you?
That's a bad way to start, my friend.
So we're friends now?
PARKER: Okay, look, uh,
nobody's in trouble. We're just
asking around the neighborhood.
So go find another neighborhood, NCIS.
We're a little busy here.
Okay, you're a little busy, huh?
Busy bumming around some Chinese market?
What would you expect, a pizzeria?
Or maybe you'd prefer a taco stand.
Hmm.
(LAUGHS) Taco stand.
- (GRUNTS)
- PARKER: Whoa!
What are you doing? Back off.
Back off, back off.
What is with you? Are you insane, man?
What the hell do you think you're doing?
- I'm gonna give him a taco stand.
- Nick!
TORRES: I got your tacos
- over here.
- (GRUNTS)
(ENGINE STARTS)
(TIRES SQUEALING)
All right, we're clear.
You're on the job, aren't you?
Thanks for not blowing my cover, guys.
TORRES: We're friends, man.
Next time maybe try
pulling your punches a little.
Come on, man. You know
I had to make it look good.
So who you with? FBI?
Baltimore PD.
Kenny Chang, Organized Crime Division.
I've been Donnie Brasco-ing
the Ghost Dragons
for over a year now.
We've got a former D.C. cop
who just turned up dead,
sporting a brand-new
Ghost Dragons tattoo.
- Thomas Lau. Do you know him?
- Can't say I do,
but the guys I've been running
with would sure hate
to hear about anyone using their
name, especially an ex-cop.
So no chance the Ghost Dragons
are making a move
- to Silver Spring?
- (LAUGHS)
Seriously?
Ghost Dragons couldn't find
Silver Spring on a map.
- What about D.C.?
- Not a chance.
All I heard about D.C. lately
is somebody down there
recruiting ex-cons to serve
as muscle for a new operation.
- Do you know what somebody?
- Or what operation?
No to both, but I can ask around.
Soon as you get me back. (SIGHS)
Back to the market?
Only that's got to look real good, too.
Maybe drive past real fast and
push me out without stopping.
- That's a good idea.
- No, that's good.
All right.
All right, you got it, Parker.
And drive safe.
(SIGHS) So Thomas Lau and his partner
are using the Ghost Dragon name
to shake down businesses.
MCGEE: While possibly
also recruiting more muscle
to expand their brand.
- Knockoff brand, that is.
- Yeah.
What time is Mateo's hearing?
8:00 a.m. I'm good.
You sure? You know,
it's getting kind of late.
A good night's sleep might do you good.
Oh, how would you sleep, leaving
everyone in the middle of a case?
(KNIGHT LAUGHS SOFTLY)
I know you went
and spoke to Jimmy earlier.
I'm sorry if we well, if I
was too nice to be honest
about your speech.
Come on. No need to apologize.
Imagine if we were all
painfully honest
with each other all the time?
No, thank you. (LAUGHS)
No, no. I mean, honesty's
important, but nice is nice.
Hey, guys.
Oh, hey, I was just about
to go check on Chloe.
- She still awake?
- Well, funny enough, she was
asleep in the comfy chair
while I was analyzing
Lau's wound, which was caused
by a Marine-issue
Mark 2 fighting knife, by the way.
And I looked up to find her kinda
- gone. (SCOFFS)
- Gone?
Not gone gone. Security would
never let her leave.
Especially not holding evidence.
- She took evidence?
- Well,
her mother's cell phone is missing.
Not missing missing.
Wait. I have an idea where she might be.
Oh, thank God.
Chloe?
(SIGHS)
Got to say, I didn't expect
to have to pay a toll,
but I guess if I want
to get in the tent
I'm not that hungry.
You had us worried.
First we couldn't find you.
Then we couldn't find your mom's phone.
I promised her I'd keep it close.
And you know how to keep a promise.
We're gonna find her, Chloe.
Hearing those men made me think
of my dad.
I haven't heard Mandarin
in such a long time.
That had to be hard.
If I forget Mandarin,
do you think I'll forget him, too?
Chloe, no.
(PHONE RINGING)
It's ringing.
Do you know that number?
No, but just answer it.
Okay.
MONICA: Chloe?
Mommy?
Oh, God. Baby, you're okay.
Yeah, I'm with Jess.
KNIGHT: She's okay, Monica.
This is NCIS Special Agent
Jessica Knight.
Thank God.
Just listen. I can't talk for long.
- Where are you, Monica?
- Please,
just keep my baby safe
until I finish what I started.
You can be finished now.
Come in and let us help you.
You want to help?
Send some agents to Troy's place.
Lóngtóu will be waiting for you there.
I love you, Chloe-bear.
Stay safe.
- (DISCONNECT TONE)
- KNIGHT: Monica?
That means she's all right, right?
Yeah, Chloe, she's okay.
Troy's place.
Is that the clown store?
Mom calls it Troy's place,
and Troy is the clown store guy.
- MCGEE: NCIS!
- TROY: Don't shoot, please!
(PANTING)
I thought she was gonna kill me.
We thought you were already dead.
Monica said we'd find Lóngtóu here.
Instead we get this guy?
This whole thing's gotten out of hand.
What thing? Where's Lóngtóu?
They call me that as a joke.
There is no Lóngtóu.
It's just me.
And Monica? Where is she?
I don't know,
but wherever she ends up
it won't be good.
Business was terrible.
I tried to keep it going
for years, but the stupid banks.
Okay, all right. Enough trying
to justify yourself.
Just tell us about your friends again.
Like I said, nobody's friends anymore.
At first it was just me
and this old cop buddy of mine
pretending to be
Chinese gangsters,
shaking businesses down
for protection money.
PARKER:
This cop buddy of yours was
- the late Thomas Lau.
- (SIGHS)
He was having money troubles of his own.
And then his cousin Fred
got out of prison.
Found him. Fred Yong.
Did a dime at Indian Creek.
Assault, armed robbery.
Paroled six months ago.
That's the lunatic.
He came to us, I mapped out the targets,
and they went and hit up
all these trendy new stores
to, you know, contribute a little?
(SCOFFS) Contribute.
Uh, a couple of hundred bucks
a week from each spot,
and, uh, the cash was decent.
Even split three ways.
Yeah, you three Ghost Dragons?
We needed a name, so why not one
with a built-in reputation?
Yeah, trouble is,
it went straight to their heads.
KNIGHT: Tattoos,
- more muscle.
- Yeah.
That's all Fred trying to expand.
And when that Sullivan guy
came sniffing around,
these guys really went off the rails.
- These guys? Come on, Troy.
- Yeah.
We've got video from your own store
showing you luring Sullivan
into that back room.
You knew what was waiting
for him back there!
I had no idea he was gonna get killed!
Okay? Uh again, that's all Fred.
It's always been Fred!
And where can we find Fred?
Hell if I know.
(PHONE RINGS)
Special Agent Torres.
Oh, yeah. How you doing?
When I got squeezed out,
Fred called that cop
and he disappeared.
No honor amongst thieves and all that.
So it wasn't Monica?
Lady Rambo? No.
She damn almost near killed me
before you guys showed up.
So you really have no idea
where she went?
Or where she could be found?
Well, I mean,
if-if it can help my cause,
I-I might have a pretty good guess.
Can we make a deal?
(KNOCKING ON GLASS)
(PARKER SIGHS)
What? What? Uh
Wait, where are you going?
I just got a call from Kenny Chang.
Nick's undercover guy, Baltimore.
- What'd he say?
- He was right.
The Ghost Dragons don't like it
when somebody uses their name,
so they're sending a crew
down here to take it back.
- Down here where?
- Brockway Mill Lumber Company.
How did the Dragons
find out where they'd be?
He said that,
uh, they send their recruits
actual addresses of where to meet.
Stupid and arrogant.
KNIGHT: Well, either way,
if Monica gets that address,
she could be
in the middle of a gang war.
I'll get us some backup.
FRED: Hey, nice turnout.
How you doing?
Welcome aboard.
TORRES (OVER COMMS):
I don't like these odds.
KNIGHT: Where's that
backup we asked for?
It's on their way. Just sit tight.
(BOTH GRUNTING)
Wait a minute. Is that Monica?
(MONICA PANTING)
Guess she got the address.
PARKER: Yeah,
and walked right into a trap.
You happy now, lady?
You found us.
(SIGHS)
You're gonna pay for killing Sully.
Oh, is that so?
(LAUGHTER)
Can we really keep waiting?
Not anymore. Everybody good to go?
- Good to go, baby.
- PARKER: All right.
We move in three,
two one.
- NCIS!
- NCIS!
Federal agents!
Weapons down! Now!
Let's see some hands!
(GUTTURAL GROAN)
Don't be crashing my party, NCIS!
- You're outnumbered!
- PARKER: Party's over!
You all think you've been
recruited by the Ghost Dragons?
These guys are not the real deal.
This guy, Fred here
he's a gang of one right now!
- You shut the hell up!
- (CHATTER IN MANDARIN)
PARKER: Hey, Knight,
I think I'm losing 'em.
You want to step in here
and give me a hand?
And they're not happy.
(LOW, INDISTINCT CHATTER)
TORRES: Uh,
can you tell a few more to go?
I was hoping.
Look, genius, we'll stay here all day.
I don't care
if it is eight against three.
Make that four.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(MONICA GASPS)
I got him. Cover me.
(GRUNTS)
(MUTTERS)
MAN: Don't shoot, don't shoot!
MAN 2: We give up.
Weapons on the ground now.
(SIRENS AND HORNS APPROACHING)
There's our cavalry.
(CHUCKLES) Just in time.
(FRED GROANING)
Nice.
Worked for me.
PARKER: Knight, you good?
Yeah. All good, Parker.
You?
All good.
Kenny Chang says thank you.
Soon as the cop car
showed up to the mill,
the Ghost Dragons headed back
to Baltimore.
- (TYPING)
- No gang wars today, kids.
Any word from McGee
on Mateo's court case?
Uh, not from him.
Uh, all Jimmy said was,
they're on their way back.
- We are back.
- TORRES: Oh.
I was starting to wonder.
Yeah. And worry.
So, uh, how'd it go?
Well, I just went for moral support,
- but Tim here sure didn't need it.
- So,
- speech go well?
- Oh, forget that speech.
No Tim just threw that right out
and he spoke from the heart.
So what'd you say?
You know, I just talked
about people I know
that have, um,
turned their lives around.
You know, like our victim Sullivan.
I mean, he overcame gangs.
You, Parker.
You, too, Nick. You guys
overcame rough childhoods
to do some good in the world.
And people like Mateo.
Who I just know
could make that same turn
if given a second chance.
JIMMY: Man, he said all that and more.
I'm telling you, there was not
a dry eye in that courthouse.
And the judge what did she say?
Well, as luck would have it,
the judge
she overcame a pretty rough
childhood of her own.
- So
- So she offered Mateo
a one-time alternative to jail.
Yeah?
Looks like I'm gonna be a Navy dad.
Okay.
- (SOFT LAUGHTER)
- There you go.
I knew leaving her was wrong.
But I was who brought Sully
into this mess,
so once Chloe told me
what those men said,
I had to try and save him.
And you lived to tell the tale.
Thanks to all of you.
Sorry doesn't quite cut it, Jess, but
I swear I'll never leave Chloe again.
I believe you.
KASIE: Ooh.
Well, it's about time. We were
about to OD on popcorn.
(GASPS SOFTLY) There's my Chloe-bear.
- Mommy!
- Oh, my baby.
Oh. Oh.
Chloe. Hey.
Don't ever leave me like that again.
I won't, I promise.
You're okay?
Yeah, it's great here.
They've got a popcorn machine
and everything.
Chloe made herself quite at home here.
(LAUGHING): That's my girl.
She and her dad spent hours
camping in our living room,
chatting away in Mandarin.
Not about you, Mommy.
That's what you always told me.
(SPEAKS MANDARIN)
"Only good stuff."
Guess it's time for me
to learn Mandarin.
Well, I'm sure Chloe could teach you.
And, Chloe
if you ever wanted to practice,
you can just call me.
(SPEAKS MANDARIN)
So you'll never forget.
A gift from your dad.
Also your mom.