NCIS New Orleans (2014) s05e18 Episode Script
In Plain Sight
1 (shouting indistinctly) (whistle blows) (air horn blows) (grunts) (air horn blows) Y'all making this look too easy.
- Good game, Patton.
- Yay, baby.
(phone ringing) Hey, Nick, where you been, man? Just kicked your team's ass.
TAYLOR: Listen, I'm outside.
We need to talk.
All right, give me a chance to clean up.
Game ended.
I'll be right out.
Patton, come now.
And come alone.
(line clicks off) TAYLOR: Patton, over here! PATTON: Yo, Nick.
Where were you, man? You missed a hell of a game, bruh.
Yo, slow that car down, man! Oh! Nick! Nick.
Hold on.
OPERATOR: 911, what's your emergency? Hello? I'm here, sir.
I need some help.
My friend just got shot.
We're at the Behrman Rec Center.
Send somebody quick! We'll send an ambulance immediately.
Nick, stay with me, man.
Sir, medics have been deployed.
NCIS:New Orleans 5x18 In Plain Sight Boom, boom, boom, boom Bang, bang, bang, bang Boom, boom, boom, boom How, how, how, how Hey, hey You gotta come on.
PATTON: Yo, Nick.
You missed a hell of a game, bruh.
(gunshots) Oh! Nick! PRIDE: Patton.
Patton, you with me? Yeah.
I What did you say? Trying to find out what happened.
A car drove by, and s-shot Nick.
And it-- man, I don't-- it happened so fast.
Did you get a look at the driver? The car? A sedan, black? Or m-maybe it was blue? - Man, I I don't know.
I - Okay.
All right, license plate.
Started with an O? - Okay.
- Or a D.
I've worked all these cases with you, and it's crazy: I can't remember.
Makes all the sense in the world.
He was your friend.
Nick Taylor.
He was spooked about something.
Any idea what? Never got a chance to find out.
It all happened so fast, I couldn't.
If only I'd have gotten here a moment earlier A moment earlier, and I would have been investigating your death right now, too.
That's not something I'm ready for.
Nothing you could've done, P.
Well, can we cover him up? I don't want to leave him out here like that.
You're right, Patton.
I'll take care of it.
I'll make sure you get home, okay? No, no, I should stay here and help, man.
You're not a field agent.
Plus, you're in shock, okay? Just hold tight.
There's three shots, as far as I can tell.
One in the shoulder, one in the abdomen, one in the prosthetic leg.
He bled out.
Seems like a drive-by.
And considering that, uh, Patton said Nick was nervous about something It's a targeted shooting.
I spoke to NOPD.
No one else was in the parking lot.
So no witnesses? Other than Patton.
We need to look at CCTV, check traffic cams.
Find the car, find our suspect.
Nick Taylor was a wounded warrior.
Who would want to target him? Let's find out.
Specialist Nick Taylor was a former Navy SEAL, uh, before losing his leg in an ambush in Afghanistan in 2004.
But he still managed to save the rest of his unit under heavy fire.
Earned a Silver Star.
Injured 14 years ago, still on active duty? Taylor got back into the service through the Valor Brigade.
What's the Valor Brigade? PRIDE: Local organization that works with the military to train injured vets for careers as analysts in law enforcement.
Pride? Patton's friend was murdered.
Where else am I gonna be? You just got reinstated back into your SAC position.
Figured you'd be needed at Belle Chasse.
Well, good thing about being the boss, Christopher, is that I get to decide where I'm needed, so Plus, I brought breakfast.
What kind of work was Taylor doing with the Valor Brigade? Well, after he rehabbed his injury, Navy trained and transferred him to intelligence.
Yeah, his last assignment was a joint drug interdiction task force with the Coast Guard.
Analyzing statistical data for narcotics busts.
Well, we need to speak to his supervisor.
- Yeah.
PATTON: Wow.
I'm usually the first one in the office.
I got to get my mindfulness on before I start catching bad guys.
You okay, baby? Oh, I'll be better once I start working.
I got to find Nick's killer.
PRIDE: Well, we can definitely use your help, but you need to pace yourself, huh? I'm paced just fine.
Have you seen a trauma counselor yet? I got plenty of time to talk about my feelings.
You know the first 48 hours of a murder investigation are key.
LASALLE: Yeah, P.
We know.
Well, let's go.
Chop, chop.
I dug into Taylor's recent activity.
Last place he went before he was shot was Crane Rehab Center.
Doing PT, I guess.
You know, the Crane Center is more than just rehab.
It's like a clubhouse, a sanctuary, a place to let off steam.
That's where I met Nick back in the day.
So, worth checking out.
HANNAH: Lasalle, Gregorio, head over to the rehab center.
See if anyone noticed anything off with Taylor.
Let's get in touch with Taylor's CO, get some background on his work with the Coast Guard.
Oh, you ain't got to tell me.
I'm-a go dig into Taylor's digital life.
You want to work the case, I'm not stopping you.
But you're making an appointment with the trauma counselor.
- Pride, I - Non-negotiable.
I've been through what you're facing.
You need to get in front of it before it gets away from you.
Ever think about what you would do if you Nope.
Don't even go there.
I don't even want to put that possibility out into the universe.
Well, I think about it.
I mean, it comes with the territory with this job, Gregorio.
- And? LASALLE: Eh, as long as I got fishing and golf to help keep me sane, - I'd be a'ight.
- Oh, it's kind of hard to swing a nine iron sitting down, no? Well, it's the 21st century.
Yeah, they got machines that help you stand up playing golf now.
Excuse me, sir, uh, we need some information on a Nick Taylor.
You're gonna want to talk to his therapist, Julia.
She's just around the corner.
Okay.
Thank you.
- Oh! - You good, friend? I was three seconds shy of my record.
Sorry, we didn't mean to distract you.
Just means he gets another chance to break his record.
Come on, you got this, Zan.
Let's go again.
Hey, keep up the good work.
Was I not supposed to say that? I don't know.
JULIA: And breathe GREGORIO: Excuse me.
Julia Flores? Yeah? I'm Special Agent Gregorio, this is Special Agent Lasalle.
We'd like to talk to you about Nick Taylor.
SIMMS: Yeah, questions got to wait.
She's busy.
- Oh, it'll only take a few minutes.
- Yeah? Well, we only got 20 minutes left in the session, and I want to get on the E-Stim bike, so back off.
I already told you that's not happening today, Kevin.
And I already told you that I am sick of stretching.
What's that, NOPD? You were a cop? I am a cop.
Fact that I got one leg surprising to you? Not at all.
The fact that you don't know that this is an official investigation is.
- Now, can we talk to you, please? - Yes, my office.
Thank you.
Practice breathing with your diaphragm.
Yeah? (inhales, exhales) I'll be right back.
(inhales, exhales) I'm sorry about Kevin.
Everyone adjusts in their own time, he just hasn't really accepted his injury yet.
It's the hardest part.
Well, what about Nick Taylor? Did he have a hard time adjusting? Nick? No.
He, um, he's an old hand at this, so he's helped a lot of the others adjust.
Is he okay? Um, I'm afraid not.
He was murdered last night.
Wh Are you okay? Sorry.
I just haven't lost a patient before.
What happened? Drive-by shooting.
Did you get a sense that Nick was in trouble? Or anyone have a beef with him? Nick is the sweetest guy.
Nobody would ever want to hurt him.
Were you close? Yes, I'm close with all my patients.
(clears throat) Look, ma'am, you can't even stand up.
What aren't you telling us? My God, if anybody found out Found out what? Nick and I, we're, we're-- we're involved.
- Doesn't sound exactly ethical.
- It's not.
That's why we were quiet about it.
I didn't plan for this to happen, it just sort of did, you know? LASALLE: Well, that means you knew him better than anyone else here.
Can you keep this between us, please? I really don't want anyone to find out about this.
Yeah, listen, we're not trying to jam you up here.
We just need some help figuring out why he was killed.
Yeah, of course.
Okay, what can I do? Well, start by telling us everything you know about Nick Taylor.
WADE: I dropped by Patton's place this morning just to check up on him.
He wasn't there.
No, he was at NCIS, working the case.
Ah, throwing himself back into the job.
Yeah.
It's what every one of us would do.
Oh, yeah, but the way that he's acting, it's almost as if he didn't see his friend murdered in front of him.
I'm not sure there's an appropriate way to act in that situation.
Probably true.
But I sent him to a trauma counselor to at least get the ball rolling.
Good.
He needs all the help he can get.
SEBASTIAN: Thanks.
Where did you come from? Accessible entrance around the back.
Shouldn't you be with the counselor? We met, we talked, we agreed I should be here.
I need to see my friend.
The trauma counselor told you should come to autopsy to see his body? Technically, I told her.
But you left before she could argue.
This is not a good idea.
You were supposed to give the trauma counselor a chance.
Pride, I'm a grown man.
I watched him die.
I want to see my friend.
(quietly): Yeah.
He's not here, huh? No.
Nick's gone.
We'll give you a moment.
What did you find, Doc? Nick was shot three times.
One lodged in the prosthetic leg, one in the shoulder and the last one missed most of his vital organs, but nicked the abdominal aorta and he bled out in minutes.
You gonna be able to run ballistics? The two bullets in Nick shattered on impact, but the one in the leg is still in good condition.
Man, this thing is badass.
I've never seen a prosthesis this high tech before.
(phone buzzing) DARPA's been working on an advanced prosthetic that'll allow soldiers to get back in combat.
(phone buzzing) Nick was part of the pilot program.
Think you'll be able to remove the bullet? (phone buzzing) PATTON: Sebastian.
He asked you a question, man.
Check your texts later.
I'm not checking my texts.
E-Every time I move closer to this leg, my phone vibrates.
What's it mean? Let me see that phone? (phone buzzing, crackling) Could you take that foot off, please? Let me see.
Give me some tweezers.
Some sort of memory card? Looks like an aftermarket.
Aftermarket for what purpose? I think Taylor's leg was bugged.
Think you can access what's on that thing? What kind of question is that? A stupid one, apparently.
Someone's gonna have to explain to the civilians here how is that thing a bug? It's a keyboard sniffer.
It logs everything you do on a computer.
It's not supposed to react like this.
Must have gotten damaged during the shooting.
You got it, P.
What's on it? A treasure trove.
A treasure trove of what? Classified Navy Intel.
Looks like Nick Taylor was a spy.
PRIDE: Nick Taylor removed classified material from the Coast Guard joint task force using a bug hidden in his prosthesis.
By all appearances, he was a spy.
Patton is convinced that isn't true.
Well, a spy isn't very good if you can't deceive the people around you.
Do you think he's right? What I think is that we need to know more.
And Patton's gonna keep investigating with us? Well, he's our computer specialist.
And he knows the victim better than anyone else.
I'll follow your lead on that.
But? If we find more evidence pointing to Taylor being a spy, Patton might not be able to handle it.
He's a professional first and foremost.
He'll handle it.
Uh, think we're about to test that theory.
We got something you guys are gonna want to see.
So we've been digging into Nick's time with the drug interdiction task force.
He was analyzing Intel on smuggling routes.
SEBASTIAN: Yeah, and since he joined the Coast Guard, narcotics busts are down 20%.
It's hard to believe that's a coincidence.
It's Occam's razor.
The simplest explanation is usually correct.
Well, the simplest explanation here is that he was feeding Intel to drug traffickers, trying to help avoid Coast Guard patrols.
That's just not true.
Look, I know it's not what you want to hear, Patton.
Nick is no spy.
The evidence tells a different story, P.
He was being used.
How can you be sure? I can prove it.
The device we found on Nick's leg was temporary storage.
Whatever data it was collecting had to be off-loaded using an encrypted wireless signal.
And you decrypted it? It wasn't easy, but I backtraced it.
Crane Rehab Center? There's another device there.
It's emitting the same signal.
Now, all we have to do to clear Nick's name is find out who has it.
All right, Gregorio, grab Lasalle, get back down there.
- I'll drive.
GREGORIO: P, we got this.
Nuh-uh, no.
I'm not staying here.
And besides, I have the frequency tracker we need to find the signal.
I know you're looking out for your friend That man is not just my friend.
He was there for me at the lowest point of my life.
After my accident, that man got me through rehab.
He saved me.
I owe him that.
Well, let's all go, we'll make it a field trip.
Come on.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Everybody can't go.
Just stay here, Sebastian.
Try the rest of the interdiction team.
You think you can keep an open mind about Taylor? Course I can, Pride.
Let's do this.
What exactly are we looking for up in here? Could be another device like the one found in Nick's leg.
Meaning it's planted in another prosthetic? Could be.
LASALLE: Signal's getting stronger.
Means we're closer.
Is it supposed to make that sound? Something's telling me that's a big fat no.
Means there's multiple devices.
And they're all in the same room.
Multiple devices Multiple spies.
SIMMS: While members of the Valor Brigade are not law enforcement agents, you are held to the same standards of protocol.
(device pinging) You're late.
You can get notes from somebody else.
I'm not going back.
I'm not here for training.
LASALLE: We're NCIS.
- Oh, yeah, I remember.
You interrupted my PT this morning, and now you're interrupting my lecture.
Which one of them do you want to see now? Honestly? Everybody.
Including you.
So, Detective Simms, how long have you been injured? Six months.
I was pursuing a fugitive on foot when a car swerved out of the way to avoid him, hit me.
Lost my leg, bruised my spinal cord.
Oh, yeah, and the suspect got away.
Where did you get your equipment? Rehab.
Chair's just a loaner.
I'll be on my feet again soon enough.
The doctors say that's a possibility? Doctors don't know everything.
The connection's still there, just waiting for the swelling to go down.
But you guys didn't call me in here to talk about my injury, so No, we're here to talk about these.
Don't even know what those are.
Keyboard sniffers.
Track and record computer keystrokes within a 50-foot radius.
(chuckles): I'm a street cop.
I kick down doors and I kick ass.
I don't do tech.
They're advanced bugs for hacking.
One of these was found on Nick Taylor's prosthesis.
- Hmm.
- Think he was killed over it.
Sounds like he was up to no good.
One of these was found on each of the members of the Valor Brigade that you were lecturing.
I'm not in the Valor Brigade.
I provide training on behalf of the NOPD.
I'm an actual cop.
Well, then, you should know what we're getting at with this.
We found this one on your chair.
That's not possible.
Oh, it's more than possible, Detective, it's a fact.
Only question is, did you know you were stealing confidential police information, or were you being used? In 15 years of police work, I've had a spotless record.
Now, you can search my home, search my bank accounts, whatever the hell you want.
Someone's played me for a fool.
These bugs were being used to steal Intel from multiple law enforcement agencies.
Yeah, Navy, Coast Guard, DEA, FBI, NOPD.
Well, Pride's gonna head back to Belle Chasse to liaise with the agencies, try to figure out the damage that was done.
Well, this has been going on for months.
It's, it's gonna be bad.
And we don't have a viable suspect yet.
Yeah, all the members of the Valor Brigade claim to have no idea about the bugs.
LASALLE: Yeah.
Looked into their backgrounds, and they're all upstanding veterans dedicated to service, even after sustaining such traumatic injuries.
Is Gregorio escorting them back to the Crane Center? Yeah, with our thanks for their cooperation.
What about Simms? He involved? He says no.
I'm inclined to believe him.
It's conceivable they were being used.
All right, which means it's possible Nick Taylor was being used, too.
PATTON: That's what I've been trying to tell you.
Nick is no spy.
You might be right, Patton, but we still don't have a viable suspect.
Hell yes, we do.
Julia Flores? Taylor's physical therapist? And secret girlfriend, right? She may not be a member of the Valor Brigade, but she had access to all their equipment.
I guess it's possible she could have placed the devices without anyone knowing.
- But why? She was being coerced.
I dumped her cell phone.
I found multiple texts from an unknown number.
Seems like someone found out about her and Nick.
So, okay, wait.
So we're saying that this woman committed treason just to keep her relationship a secret? Not only that.
The blackmailer threatened her with physical violence if Julia didn't agree to help.
So, what? Her boyfriend, Taylor, finds out and confronts her? Nick was desperate to speak with me that night.
It was probably about this.
Is Julia Flores the type to pull off a drive-by shooting? There's only one way to find out.
Let's go bring her in.
Landlady next door said Julia came home early and hasn't left since.
- All right.
(exhales) I do the cop knock? Julia Flores.
Federal agents.
- Use the key? - Yeah.
All right, Ms.
Flores.
We're coming in.
SEBASTIAN: This doesn't look good.
LASALLE: She's not in here.
(exhales) Stop playing hide-and-seek.
I found her.
(inhales sharply) Looks like they got to her first.
Lasalle's with Sebastian in Julia Flores' apartment looking for any evidence that'll point to her killer.
Well, we can assume the suspect is responsible for Nick Taylor's murder as well.
And all because she was bugging members of the Valor Brigade in order to steal Intel from law enforcement.
Well, clearly, she has an accomplice.
There's no sign of forced entry It's likely she knew her killer.
No sign of stolen Intel, either.
Julia Flores' digital devices are clean.
No telling how much confidential information has been sold off.
Undercover operations, names of informants, policing strategies, I Yeah, well, I spent all evening at Belle Chase trying to sort this all out.
It's a mess for every agency utilizing the Valor Brigade.
And a mess for veterans involved.
It's a genius plan, actually.
Using disabled veterans as spies.
Disabled people are everywhere.
But society trains people to look right through us.
If they look at us at all.
(scoffs) We hide in plain sight.
I never thought of it that way.
(laughs) My point exactly.
Fair enough.
Does this get us any closer to our suspect? Yeah, we need to figure out who benefits.
That's one of the many reasons you keep me employed.
I was able to recover every piece of data recorded on those confiscated devices in the last six months.
Now all I got to do is cross-reference the data with the bad guys, and see who got away with more crimes.
Do you got some sort of algorithm that could help us do this? Huh.
No, ma'am.
This gonna take some old-fashioned grunt work.
It'll take us weeks to go through this Intel.
That's time we don't have with all this sensitive information floating around.
Yeah, but it's our best chance at finding a suspect.
Think I got a better solution.
I remember visiting you at a place like this 100 years ago.
Yeah, I remember you breaking me out, taking me to the Saints game.
- Needed to cheer you up.
Yeah.
Nurses weren't too happy about that.
Yeah, they complained to my supervisor.
Almost got me suspended.
Hey, man, I covered your ass.
Yeah, by telling everyone that you walked out of there on your own, ran into me at the Superdome.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
That was a good game, though.
For the first time, I was able to forget about all my troubles.
Man, I was so angry.
Marriage falling apart.
Nick kept it real about my injuries, though.
You kept my spirits up.
That's what family's for.
Hey, man.
Not everybody's lucky to have support like that.
Time like that, you find out who your friends are.
Oh, you guys are really ruining my week, here.
If you're gonna arrest us, just do it already.
I was told NCIS cleared us of any wrongdoing.
That's right.
No one's in any trouble.
No one's getting arrested.
Well, then, what's this about? Nick Taylor and Julia Flores.
Both murdered by someone stealing Intel.
Got any leads? Not yet.
That's where you come in.
We need to look through all the data stolen from your agencies.
Any connection to Julia or criminals who benefited the most.
It requires more eyes than what we've got.
We need trained professionals that know what to look for.
That's all of you.
If you're up for it.
We're in.
Nah, it's a hard pass for me.
PRIDE: You're the most experienced person in here.
We need you.
And I need to focus on recovery.
I'm gonna go to the gym.
Y'all have fun, though.
- Simms, hold up.
- No time.
Busy, have a nice life.
What? What do you want? To give you a reality check.
Oh, I-I get it.
This is where you relate to me and give me some tough love? Nah, I'll smack some sense into you if you don't show me some respect.
All right.
Speak.
Look, man.
Your leg is not gonna magically grow back.
Here goes.
You're not just gonna get out that chair-- at least not today, anyway.
Your motivational speaking could really use some work.
You could skip the workout.
I need you to focus on something other than yourself.
I need you to help me find Nick's killer, man.
Look, I am sorry for your loss, but I did not know the guy.
You knew the guy better than most.
You shared something in common.
No.
I am not like Taylor or you.
All right? This chair isn't me.
This is only a temporary state of affairs.
Okay, situation's temporary.
You'll get up and walk.
It doesn't matter right now.
And what matters, then? The suspects we're trying to find.
They used you.
They saw you as weak, broken.
An easy target.
Don't you want to prove them wrong? Well, I just finished analyzing the evidence from Julia Flores's apartment.
Well, I just completed her autopsy.
I managed to extract a bullet in near-pristine condition.
Same caliber as the ones that killed Taylor.
All right, I'll run ballistics.
Maybe we'll be lucky, get a hit.
We could use some luck here.
There's no foreign DNA under Ms.
Flores's fingernails, no signs of a struggle.
Not much to offer in identifying her killer.
Yeah, well, I might've found something at the crime scene.
Scuff marks on the floor in the hallway.
Like heels of a shoe? Maybe, but what matters is the particles that I found in the scuff marks.
It's high-grade cocaine.
No, Ms.
Flores's tox screen came back clean.
Yeah, well, this stuff is 100% pure.
It's not meant for consumption.
Plus, I only found traces of it anyway.
So it came from the suspect.
Yeah, if I can track where the cocaine came from, should be able to find the killer.
Uh, I don't know how you do this.
Sitting in this hole, eyeballing a screen for hours at a time Excuse me, but my office is not a hole.
I should be out on the street.
Kicking ass and taking names, right? - Exactly.
- That's not how cases are solved.
It's how arrests are made.
Because of the work done in tastefully decorated rooms like these.
We've been at this for hours.
All right? Along with the rest of the Valor Brigade.
And what do we have to show for it? Do you bring this attitude to rehab? I bring this attitude to everything I do.
Anger and frustration have always served me well.
Well, it's time to add some faith.
'Cause we just narrowed the pool of suspects from 20 criminal organizations to five.
Yeah, five gangs with the most to gain from stealing this information and Intel? With 100 members? That's still not much to go on.
Hey, any of these gangs traffic high-grade cocaine from the Apurimac Valley in Peru? They all have some involvement in drugs.
Well, according to Sebastian, these narcotics are pretty damn special.
Okay, well, we'll keep an eye out for the Peruvian marching powder in our search.
SIMMS: No, no, no.
W-We don't have to.
Listen.
Before my accident, I was assigned to narcotics.
And there was this new player in town that was flooding the streets with this highly potent cocaine.
Well, don't keep us in suspense.
Who's the player? The Marauders.
Who are the Marauders? Motorcycle gang on the margins of the smuggling business.
Guns, pot, cigarettes.
They managed to luck into a Peruvian connection for cocaine; became big players overnight.
How come I haven't heard of them? NOPD was handling them for a while, but then they got smart.
Managed to avoid arrests.
Yeah, as if they had inside information.
How does this gang connect to Julia Flores or Nick Taylor? We cross-referenced them with each of these names in this gang, we got nothing.
Well, then, we need to cast a wider net.
Flores, Taylor the Valor Brigade.
They're all involved.
What's the common denominator here? Crane Rehab Center.
Any Marauders connection there? I got something.
Motorcycle accident.
Captain of the Marauders was involved, walked away unhurt.
Different story for his brother.
You got to be kidding me.
Zander Reed.
Met him at the center yesterday.
Patton, you were right.
He was hiding in plain sight.
Reed lost a leg a year ago in an unsanctioned motorcycle race, ends up at the Crane Center for rehab.
LASALLE: Few months after that, the Marauders' business started booming.
Avoiding arrests and gaining strength on the street.
'Cause they're probably getting information fed to them from the Valor Brigade.
How's a guy like Reed get the technical know-how to run a scheme like this? LASALLE: Two semesters of computer science at a technical college.
PRIDE: So what are we thinking here? That Reed somehow gets Julia Flores to plant the bugs in the prosthetics and chairs? HANNAH: Blackmails her 'cause of an inappropriate relationship she was having with a patient, Nick Taylor.
Then Taylor somehow figures out what she's been doing, wants to expose the scheme.
Reed kills him, then kills Flores when he sees NCIS is on the case.
He was right under our nose and we didn't even know it.
No one knew.
Key now is to bring him in.
Yeah, well, we got to find him first.
Guy's in the wind.
He could be laying low with the Marauders.
Except they're not laying low.
You learn something, P? Not me.
Come on.
Keep at it.
All right.
I still got a few CIs who'll take my call and I rattled their cages to get info on the Marauders.
They're making a move this afternoon.
PATTON: Meeting a boat at the Poland Street Wharf, some kind of drug shipment.
You think Reed'll be with them? What I hear, Marauders are gonna put him on a boat and out of the country.
Not if we get to the Poland Street Wharf first.
I'll get the team geared up.
Yeah.
This is good work.
Glad I could contribute.
Hey, like I said, this is where cases get solved.
I'd still like to go with you, look Reed in the eyes when the cuffs go on.
You'll get your chance soon as we have him back here.
Fair enough.
Oh, hey, hey.
Marauders roll pretty heavy.
We'll be careful.
PATTON: Hey, Kev, we can monitor the takedown from here if you just want to hang around.
Be like the eyes in the sky.
Nah, I'm beat.
All this thinking and typing wore me out.
I think I'm just gonna head home.
You sure? We're about to catch the bad guys.
This is the best part.
You just let me know when you get Reed.
Not a lot of places to hide.
Let's split up.
Sebastian and I'll go around back.
Eyes peeled.
Marauders could be anywhere.
All right? And they're heavily armed.
Let's move.
Comms open.
PRIDE (over comms): Sebastian, Lasalle, just spotted three Marauders at the dock.
What's your status? I got a visual on the truck and five bikes.
At least three bikers.
PRIDE: All right, copy that.
Let's move.
(indistinct chatter) On my count.
Three two one.
HANNAH: Federal agents! (gunfire) (over bullhorn): This is the Coast Guard.
Put your weapons down.
Get down on the ground Put it down! Get on the ground! (over bullhorn): we can see them.
Do it now.
(siren wailing) On your feet.
Where's Reed? He isn't here.
I'd have bought you a drink, but I see you ain't finished the one you got.
The hell are you doing here? Obviously following you.
What's your excuse? Just unwinding.
You drove a hell of a long way to unwind.
Aren't there any crappy bars in your neighborhood? Just because we spent the day together does not mean we're going steady.
And I thought we were getting along so well.
For real, Patton, you got to go.
Who you giving evil eyes to? SIMMS: Zander Reed.
You sent NCIS to the wharf, and you knew Reed wouldn't be there.
It's a good bust.
Your team will get kudos, but Reed is mine.
Do you realize your brain and your legs aren't on speaking terms right now? All I need is a confession.
I have ways of encouraging him to open up.
You didn't think this thing all the way through.
It's all I've been thinking about.
Look, hold your roll, man.
Let's go outside and talk about this.
Simms.
(grunts) Zander Reed? Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up.
No need for weapons.
I'm just a computer specialist.
I'm not.
All right, look, this is all fun and everything, but can we just use our words right now? Shoot the chatty one first.
Try it.
See what happens.
Don't try it.
What are you even doing here? Arresting you for murder.
This seem like a good time to be a smart-ass? He can't help himself.
Trust me.
You killed Nick Taylor and Julia Flores and played the Valor Brigade for fools.
You are fools.
And Taylor was the biggest one, should've stayed in his lane.
Whoa, you talking about my friend, partner.
And what're you gonna do about it? Put a bullet between your eyes.
If you were gonna shoot me, I'd be shot.
Don't test fate, son.
You feel sorry for yourself.
I don't.
We were both dealt a bad hand.
You're just pissed 'cause I figured out a way to make a profit from it.
Enough talking.
Simms, don't let him define you.
You are not like him.
Come on, man, you do this you gonna ruin your life, if you're even breathing after this.
You're the one with the life.
I got nothing.
Then do this already.
Yo, would you shut up? And I need you to listen to me.
Simms, if you want what I got, you gonna have to accept your new reality.
It's gonna be the hardest thing you ever do, but it's the only way.
And live in your fantasyland? No, thanks.
You think I don't miss feeling the ground beneath my feet? And I still got to wake up every day and live my life.
Come on, he got a few screws loose, but he makes a valid point.
What's that? You got to make something useful of your situation.
Come on, man, let me be to you what Nick was to me.
REED: What does it matter? You're both gonna die today anyway.
REED: What does Ain't nobody gonna die today.
Th And how can you be so sure of that? 'Cause I was stalling, jackass.
Federal agents! Get your hands up.
LASALLE: Zander Reed, you're under arrest.
Don't move.
- H-H-How-how did you PRIDE: Patton gave us a heads-up as soon as he knew you were here.
PATTON: Dude, you could've drove a little quicker.
I was running out of witty banter.
You both okay? I don't know what I am.
You a guy who just got a second chance.
Just spoke to Director Vance.
I think I made a pretty good case for the Valor Brigade staying in business.
You think the DoD will still work with them after the security breach? Well, considering the Valor Brigade was also instrumental in taking down Reed and the Marauders, yeah, I'd say they earned their keep.
Patton's earned himself a commendation.
If it wasn't for his faith in Nick Taylor, we wouldn't have solved this one.
Got to admit, Patton's a good field agent.
Yeah, and he makes it look easy.
Well, he's worked hard to get to the place he's in now.
I don't know if I could do it if the roles were reversed.
Eh, of course you could.
Patton wouldn't give you another option.
Yeah.
I was gonna buy y'all a drink, but it looks like you got stuck doing paperwork.
- Oh, yeah.
Patton was gonna help, but he had a game tonight, so we didn't want him to miss it.
Yeah, he deserves a little R & R.
You got that right.
(whistle blows) (indistinct shouting) What? (whistle blows) That wasn't a foul, man! Come on, let us play, ref! You be tripping, brah.
Hey, yo, check it out.
Yo, yo, yo.
We got a new recruit.
Glad you came, bruh.
Taylor would be, too.
Don't let these guys go easy on me.
Oh, no, believe me, I'm-a see to it that you get your ass kicked.
- Yeah? - Welcome to the club.
- Good game, Patton.
- Yay, baby.
(phone ringing) Hey, Nick, where you been, man? Just kicked your team's ass.
TAYLOR: Listen, I'm outside.
We need to talk.
All right, give me a chance to clean up.
Game ended.
I'll be right out.
Patton, come now.
And come alone.
(line clicks off) TAYLOR: Patton, over here! PATTON: Yo, Nick.
Where were you, man? You missed a hell of a game, bruh.
Yo, slow that car down, man! Oh! Nick! Nick.
Hold on.
OPERATOR: 911, what's your emergency? Hello? I'm here, sir.
I need some help.
My friend just got shot.
We're at the Behrman Rec Center.
Send somebody quick! We'll send an ambulance immediately.
Nick, stay with me, man.
Sir, medics have been deployed.
NCIS:New Orleans 5x18 In Plain Sight Boom, boom, boom, boom Bang, bang, bang, bang Boom, boom, boom, boom How, how, how, how Hey, hey You gotta come on.
PATTON: Yo, Nick.
You missed a hell of a game, bruh.
(gunshots) Oh! Nick! PRIDE: Patton.
Patton, you with me? Yeah.
I What did you say? Trying to find out what happened.
A car drove by, and s-shot Nick.
And it-- man, I don't-- it happened so fast.
Did you get a look at the driver? The car? A sedan, black? Or m-maybe it was blue? - Man, I I don't know.
I - Okay.
All right, license plate.
Started with an O? - Okay.
- Or a D.
I've worked all these cases with you, and it's crazy: I can't remember.
Makes all the sense in the world.
He was your friend.
Nick Taylor.
He was spooked about something.
Any idea what? Never got a chance to find out.
It all happened so fast, I couldn't.
If only I'd have gotten here a moment earlier A moment earlier, and I would have been investigating your death right now, too.
That's not something I'm ready for.
Nothing you could've done, P.
Well, can we cover him up? I don't want to leave him out here like that.
You're right, Patton.
I'll take care of it.
I'll make sure you get home, okay? No, no, I should stay here and help, man.
You're not a field agent.
Plus, you're in shock, okay? Just hold tight.
There's three shots, as far as I can tell.
One in the shoulder, one in the abdomen, one in the prosthetic leg.
He bled out.
Seems like a drive-by.
And considering that, uh, Patton said Nick was nervous about something It's a targeted shooting.
I spoke to NOPD.
No one else was in the parking lot.
So no witnesses? Other than Patton.
We need to look at CCTV, check traffic cams.
Find the car, find our suspect.
Nick Taylor was a wounded warrior.
Who would want to target him? Let's find out.
Specialist Nick Taylor was a former Navy SEAL, uh, before losing his leg in an ambush in Afghanistan in 2004.
But he still managed to save the rest of his unit under heavy fire.
Earned a Silver Star.
Injured 14 years ago, still on active duty? Taylor got back into the service through the Valor Brigade.
What's the Valor Brigade? PRIDE: Local organization that works with the military to train injured vets for careers as analysts in law enforcement.
Pride? Patton's friend was murdered.
Where else am I gonna be? You just got reinstated back into your SAC position.
Figured you'd be needed at Belle Chasse.
Well, good thing about being the boss, Christopher, is that I get to decide where I'm needed, so Plus, I brought breakfast.
What kind of work was Taylor doing with the Valor Brigade? Well, after he rehabbed his injury, Navy trained and transferred him to intelligence.
Yeah, his last assignment was a joint drug interdiction task force with the Coast Guard.
Analyzing statistical data for narcotics busts.
Well, we need to speak to his supervisor.
- Yeah.
PATTON: Wow.
I'm usually the first one in the office.
I got to get my mindfulness on before I start catching bad guys.
You okay, baby? Oh, I'll be better once I start working.
I got to find Nick's killer.
PRIDE: Well, we can definitely use your help, but you need to pace yourself, huh? I'm paced just fine.
Have you seen a trauma counselor yet? I got plenty of time to talk about my feelings.
You know the first 48 hours of a murder investigation are key.
LASALLE: Yeah, P.
We know.
Well, let's go.
Chop, chop.
I dug into Taylor's recent activity.
Last place he went before he was shot was Crane Rehab Center.
Doing PT, I guess.
You know, the Crane Center is more than just rehab.
It's like a clubhouse, a sanctuary, a place to let off steam.
That's where I met Nick back in the day.
So, worth checking out.
HANNAH: Lasalle, Gregorio, head over to the rehab center.
See if anyone noticed anything off with Taylor.
Let's get in touch with Taylor's CO, get some background on his work with the Coast Guard.
Oh, you ain't got to tell me.
I'm-a go dig into Taylor's digital life.
You want to work the case, I'm not stopping you.
But you're making an appointment with the trauma counselor.
- Pride, I - Non-negotiable.
I've been through what you're facing.
You need to get in front of it before it gets away from you.
Ever think about what you would do if you Nope.
Don't even go there.
I don't even want to put that possibility out into the universe.
Well, I think about it.
I mean, it comes with the territory with this job, Gregorio.
- And? LASALLE: Eh, as long as I got fishing and golf to help keep me sane, - I'd be a'ight.
- Oh, it's kind of hard to swing a nine iron sitting down, no? Well, it's the 21st century.
Yeah, they got machines that help you stand up playing golf now.
Excuse me, sir, uh, we need some information on a Nick Taylor.
You're gonna want to talk to his therapist, Julia.
She's just around the corner.
Okay.
Thank you.
- Oh! - You good, friend? I was three seconds shy of my record.
Sorry, we didn't mean to distract you.
Just means he gets another chance to break his record.
Come on, you got this, Zan.
Let's go again.
Hey, keep up the good work.
Was I not supposed to say that? I don't know.
JULIA: And breathe GREGORIO: Excuse me.
Julia Flores? Yeah? I'm Special Agent Gregorio, this is Special Agent Lasalle.
We'd like to talk to you about Nick Taylor.
SIMMS: Yeah, questions got to wait.
She's busy.
- Oh, it'll only take a few minutes.
- Yeah? Well, we only got 20 minutes left in the session, and I want to get on the E-Stim bike, so back off.
I already told you that's not happening today, Kevin.
And I already told you that I am sick of stretching.
What's that, NOPD? You were a cop? I am a cop.
Fact that I got one leg surprising to you? Not at all.
The fact that you don't know that this is an official investigation is.
- Now, can we talk to you, please? - Yes, my office.
Thank you.
Practice breathing with your diaphragm.
Yeah? (inhales, exhales) I'll be right back.
(inhales, exhales) I'm sorry about Kevin.
Everyone adjusts in their own time, he just hasn't really accepted his injury yet.
It's the hardest part.
Well, what about Nick Taylor? Did he have a hard time adjusting? Nick? No.
He, um, he's an old hand at this, so he's helped a lot of the others adjust.
Is he okay? Um, I'm afraid not.
He was murdered last night.
Wh Are you okay? Sorry.
I just haven't lost a patient before.
What happened? Drive-by shooting.
Did you get a sense that Nick was in trouble? Or anyone have a beef with him? Nick is the sweetest guy.
Nobody would ever want to hurt him.
Were you close? Yes, I'm close with all my patients.
(clears throat) Look, ma'am, you can't even stand up.
What aren't you telling us? My God, if anybody found out Found out what? Nick and I, we're, we're-- we're involved.
- Doesn't sound exactly ethical.
- It's not.
That's why we were quiet about it.
I didn't plan for this to happen, it just sort of did, you know? LASALLE: Well, that means you knew him better than anyone else here.
Can you keep this between us, please? I really don't want anyone to find out about this.
Yeah, listen, we're not trying to jam you up here.
We just need some help figuring out why he was killed.
Yeah, of course.
Okay, what can I do? Well, start by telling us everything you know about Nick Taylor.
WADE: I dropped by Patton's place this morning just to check up on him.
He wasn't there.
No, he was at NCIS, working the case.
Ah, throwing himself back into the job.
Yeah.
It's what every one of us would do.
Oh, yeah, but the way that he's acting, it's almost as if he didn't see his friend murdered in front of him.
I'm not sure there's an appropriate way to act in that situation.
Probably true.
But I sent him to a trauma counselor to at least get the ball rolling.
Good.
He needs all the help he can get.
SEBASTIAN: Thanks.
Where did you come from? Accessible entrance around the back.
Shouldn't you be with the counselor? We met, we talked, we agreed I should be here.
I need to see my friend.
The trauma counselor told you should come to autopsy to see his body? Technically, I told her.
But you left before she could argue.
This is not a good idea.
You were supposed to give the trauma counselor a chance.
Pride, I'm a grown man.
I watched him die.
I want to see my friend.
(quietly): Yeah.
He's not here, huh? No.
Nick's gone.
We'll give you a moment.
What did you find, Doc? Nick was shot three times.
One lodged in the prosthetic leg, one in the shoulder and the last one missed most of his vital organs, but nicked the abdominal aorta and he bled out in minutes.
You gonna be able to run ballistics? The two bullets in Nick shattered on impact, but the one in the leg is still in good condition.
Man, this thing is badass.
I've never seen a prosthesis this high tech before.
(phone buzzing) DARPA's been working on an advanced prosthetic that'll allow soldiers to get back in combat.
(phone buzzing) Nick was part of the pilot program.
Think you'll be able to remove the bullet? (phone buzzing) PATTON: Sebastian.
He asked you a question, man.
Check your texts later.
I'm not checking my texts.
E-Every time I move closer to this leg, my phone vibrates.
What's it mean? Let me see that phone? (phone buzzing, crackling) Could you take that foot off, please? Let me see.
Give me some tweezers.
Some sort of memory card? Looks like an aftermarket.
Aftermarket for what purpose? I think Taylor's leg was bugged.
Think you can access what's on that thing? What kind of question is that? A stupid one, apparently.
Someone's gonna have to explain to the civilians here how is that thing a bug? It's a keyboard sniffer.
It logs everything you do on a computer.
It's not supposed to react like this.
Must have gotten damaged during the shooting.
You got it, P.
What's on it? A treasure trove.
A treasure trove of what? Classified Navy Intel.
Looks like Nick Taylor was a spy.
PRIDE: Nick Taylor removed classified material from the Coast Guard joint task force using a bug hidden in his prosthesis.
By all appearances, he was a spy.
Patton is convinced that isn't true.
Well, a spy isn't very good if you can't deceive the people around you.
Do you think he's right? What I think is that we need to know more.
And Patton's gonna keep investigating with us? Well, he's our computer specialist.
And he knows the victim better than anyone else.
I'll follow your lead on that.
But? If we find more evidence pointing to Taylor being a spy, Patton might not be able to handle it.
He's a professional first and foremost.
He'll handle it.
Uh, think we're about to test that theory.
We got something you guys are gonna want to see.
So we've been digging into Nick's time with the drug interdiction task force.
He was analyzing Intel on smuggling routes.
SEBASTIAN: Yeah, and since he joined the Coast Guard, narcotics busts are down 20%.
It's hard to believe that's a coincidence.
It's Occam's razor.
The simplest explanation is usually correct.
Well, the simplest explanation here is that he was feeding Intel to drug traffickers, trying to help avoid Coast Guard patrols.
That's just not true.
Look, I know it's not what you want to hear, Patton.
Nick is no spy.
The evidence tells a different story, P.
He was being used.
How can you be sure? I can prove it.
The device we found on Nick's leg was temporary storage.
Whatever data it was collecting had to be off-loaded using an encrypted wireless signal.
And you decrypted it? It wasn't easy, but I backtraced it.
Crane Rehab Center? There's another device there.
It's emitting the same signal.
Now, all we have to do to clear Nick's name is find out who has it.
All right, Gregorio, grab Lasalle, get back down there.
- I'll drive.
GREGORIO: P, we got this.
Nuh-uh, no.
I'm not staying here.
And besides, I have the frequency tracker we need to find the signal.
I know you're looking out for your friend That man is not just my friend.
He was there for me at the lowest point of my life.
After my accident, that man got me through rehab.
He saved me.
I owe him that.
Well, let's all go, we'll make it a field trip.
Come on.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Everybody can't go.
Just stay here, Sebastian.
Try the rest of the interdiction team.
You think you can keep an open mind about Taylor? Course I can, Pride.
Let's do this.
What exactly are we looking for up in here? Could be another device like the one found in Nick's leg.
Meaning it's planted in another prosthetic? Could be.
LASALLE: Signal's getting stronger.
Means we're closer.
Is it supposed to make that sound? Something's telling me that's a big fat no.
Means there's multiple devices.
And they're all in the same room.
Multiple devices Multiple spies.
SIMMS: While members of the Valor Brigade are not law enforcement agents, you are held to the same standards of protocol.
(device pinging) You're late.
You can get notes from somebody else.
I'm not going back.
I'm not here for training.
LASALLE: We're NCIS.
- Oh, yeah, I remember.
You interrupted my PT this morning, and now you're interrupting my lecture.
Which one of them do you want to see now? Honestly? Everybody.
Including you.
So, Detective Simms, how long have you been injured? Six months.
I was pursuing a fugitive on foot when a car swerved out of the way to avoid him, hit me.
Lost my leg, bruised my spinal cord.
Oh, yeah, and the suspect got away.
Where did you get your equipment? Rehab.
Chair's just a loaner.
I'll be on my feet again soon enough.
The doctors say that's a possibility? Doctors don't know everything.
The connection's still there, just waiting for the swelling to go down.
But you guys didn't call me in here to talk about my injury, so No, we're here to talk about these.
Don't even know what those are.
Keyboard sniffers.
Track and record computer keystrokes within a 50-foot radius.
(chuckles): I'm a street cop.
I kick down doors and I kick ass.
I don't do tech.
They're advanced bugs for hacking.
One of these was found on Nick Taylor's prosthesis.
- Hmm.
- Think he was killed over it.
Sounds like he was up to no good.
One of these was found on each of the members of the Valor Brigade that you were lecturing.
I'm not in the Valor Brigade.
I provide training on behalf of the NOPD.
I'm an actual cop.
Well, then, you should know what we're getting at with this.
We found this one on your chair.
That's not possible.
Oh, it's more than possible, Detective, it's a fact.
Only question is, did you know you were stealing confidential police information, or were you being used? In 15 years of police work, I've had a spotless record.
Now, you can search my home, search my bank accounts, whatever the hell you want.
Someone's played me for a fool.
These bugs were being used to steal Intel from multiple law enforcement agencies.
Yeah, Navy, Coast Guard, DEA, FBI, NOPD.
Well, Pride's gonna head back to Belle Chasse to liaise with the agencies, try to figure out the damage that was done.
Well, this has been going on for months.
It's, it's gonna be bad.
And we don't have a viable suspect yet.
Yeah, all the members of the Valor Brigade claim to have no idea about the bugs.
LASALLE: Yeah.
Looked into their backgrounds, and they're all upstanding veterans dedicated to service, even after sustaining such traumatic injuries.
Is Gregorio escorting them back to the Crane Center? Yeah, with our thanks for their cooperation.
What about Simms? He involved? He says no.
I'm inclined to believe him.
It's conceivable they were being used.
All right, which means it's possible Nick Taylor was being used, too.
PATTON: That's what I've been trying to tell you.
Nick is no spy.
You might be right, Patton, but we still don't have a viable suspect.
Hell yes, we do.
Julia Flores? Taylor's physical therapist? And secret girlfriend, right? She may not be a member of the Valor Brigade, but she had access to all their equipment.
I guess it's possible she could have placed the devices without anyone knowing.
- But why? She was being coerced.
I dumped her cell phone.
I found multiple texts from an unknown number.
Seems like someone found out about her and Nick.
So, okay, wait.
So we're saying that this woman committed treason just to keep her relationship a secret? Not only that.
The blackmailer threatened her with physical violence if Julia didn't agree to help.
So, what? Her boyfriend, Taylor, finds out and confronts her? Nick was desperate to speak with me that night.
It was probably about this.
Is Julia Flores the type to pull off a drive-by shooting? There's only one way to find out.
Let's go bring her in.
Landlady next door said Julia came home early and hasn't left since.
- All right.
(exhales) I do the cop knock? Julia Flores.
Federal agents.
- Use the key? - Yeah.
All right, Ms.
Flores.
We're coming in.
SEBASTIAN: This doesn't look good.
LASALLE: She's not in here.
(exhales) Stop playing hide-and-seek.
I found her.
(inhales sharply) Looks like they got to her first.
Lasalle's with Sebastian in Julia Flores' apartment looking for any evidence that'll point to her killer.
Well, we can assume the suspect is responsible for Nick Taylor's murder as well.
And all because she was bugging members of the Valor Brigade in order to steal Intel from law enforcement.
Well, clearly, she has an accomplice.
There's no sign of forced entry It's likely she knew her killer.
No sign of stolen Intel, either.
Julia Flores' digital devices are clean.
No telling how much confidential information has been sold off.
Undercover operations, names of informants, policing strategies, I Yeah, well, I spent all evening at Belle Chase trying to sort this all out.
It's a mess for every agency utilizing the Valor Brigade.
And a mess for veterans involved.
It's a genius plan, actually.
Using disabled veterans as spies.
Disabled people are everywhere.
But society trains people to look right through us.
If they look at us at all.
(scoffs) We hide in plain sight.
I never thought of it that way.
(laughs) My point exactly.
Fair enough.
Does this get us any closer to our suspect? Yeah, we need to figure out who benefits.
That's one of the many reasons you keep me employed.
I was able to recover every piece of data recorded on those confiscated devices in the last six months.
Now all I got to do is cross-reference the data with the bad guys, and see who got away with more crimes.
Do you got some sort of algorithm that could help us do this? Huh.
No, ma'am.
This gonna take some old-fashioned grunt work.
It'll take us weeks to go through this Intel.
That's time we don't have with all this sensitive information floating around.
Yeah, but it's our best chance at finding a suspect.
Think I got a better solution.
I remember visiting you at a place like this 100 years ago.
Yeah, I remember you breaking me out, taking me to the Saints game.
- Needed to cheer you up.
Yeah.
Nurses weren't too happy about that.
Yeah, they complained to my supervisor.
Almost got me suspended.
Hey, man, I covered your ass.
Yeah, by telling everyone that you walked out of there on your own, ran into me at the Superdome.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
That was a good game, though.
For the first time, I was able to forget about all my troubles.
Man, I was so angry.
Marriage falling apart.
Nick kept it real about my injuries, though.
You kept my spirits up.
That's what family's for.
Hey, man.
Not everybody's lucky to have support like that.
Time like that, you find out who your friends are.
Oh, you guys are really ruining my week, here.
If you're gonna arrest us, just do it already.
I was told NCIS cleared us of any wrongdoing.
That's right.
No one's in any trouble.
No one's getting arrested.
Well, then, what's this about? Nick Taylor and Julia Flores.
Both murdered by someone stealing Intel.
Got any leads? Not yet.
That's where you come in.
We need to look through all the data stolen from your agencies.
Any connection to Julia or criminals who benefited the most.
It requires more eyes than what we've got.
We need trained professionals that know what to look for.
That's all of you.
If you're up for it.
We're in.
Nah, it's a hard pass for me.
PRIDE: You're the most experienced person in here.
We need you.
And I need to focus on recovery.
I'm gonna go to the gym.
Y'all have fun, though.
- Simms, hold up.
- No time.
Busy, have a nice life.
What? What do you want? To give you a reality check.
Oh, I-I get it.
This is where you relate to me and give me some tough love? Nah, I'll smack some sense into you if you don't show me some respect.
All right.
Speak.
Look, man.
Your leg is not gonna magically grow back.
Here goes.
You're not just gonna get out that chair-- at least not today, anyway.
Your motivational speaking could really use some work.
You could skip the workout.
I need you to focus on something other than yourself.
I need you to help me find Nick's killer, man.
Look, I am sorry for your loss, but I did not know the guy.
You knew the guy better than most.
You shared something in common.
No.
I am not like Taylor or you.
All right? This chair isn't me.
This is only a temporary state of affairs.
Okay, situation's temporary.
You'll get up and walk.
It doesn't matter right now.
And what matters, then? The suspects we're trying to find.
They used you.
They saw you as weak, broken.
An easy target.
Don't you want to prove them wrong? Well, I just finished analyzing the evidence from Julia Flores's apartment.
Well, I just completed her autopsy.
I managed to extract a bullet in near-pristine condition.
Same caliber as the ones that killed Taylor.
All right, I'll run ballistics.
Maybe we'll be lucky, get a hit.
We could use some luck here.
There's no foreign DNA under Ms.
Flores's fingernails, no signs of a struggle.
Not much to offer in identifying her killer.
Yeah, well, I might've found something at the crime scene.
Scuff marks on the floor in the hallway.
Like heels of a shoe? Maybe, but what matters is the particles that I found in the scuff marks.
It's high-grade cocaine.
No, Ms.
Flores's tox screen came back clean.
Yeah, well, this stuff is 100% pure.
It's not meant for consumption.
Plus, I only found traces of it anyway.
So it came from the suspect.
Yeah, if I can track where the cocaine came from, should be able to find the killer.
Uh, I don't know how you do this.
Sitting in this hole, eyeballing a screen for hours at a time Excuse me, but my office is not a hole.
I should be out on the street.
Kicking ass and taking names, right? - Exactly.
- That's not how cases are solved.
It's how arrests are made.
Because of the work done in tastefully decorated rooms like these.
We've been at this for hours.
All right? Along with the rest of the Valor Brigade.
And what do we have to show for it? Do you bring this attitude to rehab? I bring this attitude to everything I do.
Anger and frustration have always served me well.
Well, it's time to add some faith.
'Cause we just narrowed the pool of suspects from 20 criminal organizations to five.
Yeah, five gangs with the most to gain from stealing this information and Intel? With 100 members? That's still not much to go on.
Hey, any of these gangs traffic high-grade cocaine from the Apurimac Valley in Peru? They all have some involvement in drugs.
Well, according to Sebastian, these narcotics are pretty damn special.
Okay, well, we'll keep an eye out for the Peruvian marching powder in our search.
SIMMS: No, no, no.
W-We don't have to.
Listen.
Before my accident, I was assigned to narcotics.
And there was this new player in town that was flooding the streets with this highly potent cocaine.
Well, don't keep us in suspense.
Who's the player? The Marauders.
Who are the Marauders? Motorcycle gang on the margins of the smuggling business.
Guns, pot, cigarettes.
They managed to luck into a Peruvian connection for cocaine; became big players overnight.
How come I haven't heard of them? NOPD was handling them for a while, but then they got smart.
Managed to avoid arrests.
Yeah, as if they had inside information.
How does this gang connect to Julia Flores or Nick Taylor? We cross-referenced them with each of these names in this gang, we got nothing.
Well, then, we need to cast a wider net.
Flores, Taylor the Valor Brigade.
They're all involved.
What's the common denominator here? Crane Rehab Center.
Any Marauders connection there? I got something.
Motorcycle accident.
Captain of the Marauders was involved, walked away unhurt.
Different story for his brother.
You got to be kidding me.
Zander Reed.
Met him at the center yesterday.
Patton, you were right.
He was hiding in plain sight.
Reed lost a leg a year ago in an unsanctioned motorcycle race, ends up at the Crane Center for rehab.
LASALLE: Few months after that, the Marauders' business started booming.
Avoiding arrests and gaining strength on the street.
'Cause they're probably getting information fed to them from the Valor Brigade.
How's a guy like Reed get the technical know-how to run a scheme like this? LASALLE: Two semesters of computer science at a technical college.
PRIDE: So what are we thinking here? That Reed somehow gets Julia Flores to plant the bugs in the prosthetics and chairs? HANNAH: Blackmails her 'cause of an inappropriate relationship she was having with a patient, Nick Taylor.
Then Taylor somehow figures out what she's been doing, wants to expose the scheme.
Reed kills him, then kills Flores when he sees NCIS is on the case.
He was right under our nose and we didn't even know it.
No one knew.
Key now is to bring him in.
Yeah, well, we got to find him first.
Guy's in the wind.
He could be laying low with the Marauders.
Except they're not laying low.
You learn something, P? Not me.
Come on.
Keep at it.
All right.
I still got a few CIs who'll take my call and I rattled their cages to get info on the Marauders.
They're making a move this afternoon.
PATTON: Meeting a boat at the Poland Street Wharf, some kind of drug shipment.
You think Reed'll be with them? What I hear, Marauders are gonna put him on a boat and out of the country.
Not if we get to the Poland Street Wharf first.
I'll get the team geared up.
Yeah.
This is good work.
Glad I could contribute.
Hey, like I said, this is where cases get solved.
I'd still like to go with you, look Reed in the eyes when the cuffs go on.
You'll get your chance soon as we have him back here.
Fair enough.
Oh, hey, hey.
Marauders roll pretty heavy.
We'll be careful.
PATTON: Hey, Kev, we can monitor the takedown from here if you just want to hang around.
Be like the eyes in the sky.
Nah, I'm beat.
All this thinking and typing wore me out.
I think I'm just gonna head home.
You sure? We're about to catch the bad guys.
This is the best part.
You just let me know when you get Reed.
Not a lot of places to hide.
Let's split up.
Sebastian and I'll go around back.
Eyes peeled.
Marauders could be anywhere.
All right? And they're heavily armed.
Let's move.
Comms open.
PRIDE (over comms): Sebastian, Lasalle, just spotted three Marauders at the dock.
What's your status? I got a visual on the truck and five bikes.
At least three bikers.
PRIDE: All right, copy that.
Let's move.
(indistinct chatter) On my count.
Three two one.
HANNAH: Federal agents! (gunfire) (over bullhorn): This is the Coast Guard.
Put your weapons down.
Get down on the ground Put it down! Get on the ground! (over bullhorn): we can see them.
Do it now.
(siren wailing) On your feet.
Where's Reed? He isn't here.
I'd have bought you a drink, but I see you ain't finished the one you got.
The hell are you doing here? Obviously following you.
What's your excuse? Just unwinding.
You drove a hell of a long way to unwind.
Aren't there any crappy bars in your neighborhood? Just because we spent the day together does not mean we're going steady.
And I thought we were getting along so well.
For real, Patton, you got to go.
Who you giving evil eyes to? SIMMS: Zander Reed.
You sent NCIS to the wharf, and you knew Reed wouldn't be there.
It's a good bust.
Your team will get kudos, but Reed is mine.
Do you realize your brain and your legs aren't on speaking terms right now? All I need is a confession.
I have ways of encouraging him to open up.
You didn't think this thing all the way through.
It's all I've been thinking about.
Look, hold your roll, man.
Let's go outside and talk about this.
Simms.
(grunts) Zander Reed? Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up.
No need for weapons.
I'm just a computer specialist.
I'm not.
All right, look, this is all fun and everything, but can we just use our words right now? Shoot the chatty one first.
Try it.
See what happens.
Don't try it.
What are you even doing here? Arresting you for murder.
This seem like a good time to be a smart-ass? He can't help himself.
Trust me.
You killed Nick Taylor and Julia Flores and played the Valor Brigade for fools.
You are fools.
And Taylor was the biggest one, should've stayed in his lane.
Whoa, you talking about my friend, partner.
And what're you gonna do about it? Put a bullet between your eyes.
If you were gonna shoot me, I'd be shot.
Don't test fate, son.
You feel sorry for yourself.
I don't.
We were both dealt a bad hand.
You're just pissed 'cause I figured out a way to make a profit from it.
Enough talking.
Simms, don't let him define you.
You are not like him.
Come on, man, you do this you gonna ruin your life, if you're even breathing after this.
You're the one with the life.
I got nothing.
Then do this already.
Yo, would you shut up? And I need you to listen to me.
Simms, if you want what I got, you gonna have to accept your new reality.
It's gonna be the hardest thing you ever do, but it's the only way.
And live in your fantasyland? No, thanks.
You think I don't miss feeling the ground beneath my feet? And I still got to wake up every day and live my life.
Come on, he got a few screws loose, but he makes a valid point.
What's that? You got to make something useful of your situation.
Come on, man, let me be to you what Nick was to me.
REED: What does it matter? You're both gonna die today anyway.
REED: What does Ain't nobody gonna die today.
Th And how can you be so sure of that? 'Cause I was stalling, jackass.
Federal agents! Get your hands up.
LASALLE: Zander Reed, you're under arrest.
Don't move.
- H-H-How-how did you PRIDE: Patton gave us a heads-up as soon as he knew you were here.
PATTON: Dude, you could've drove a little quicker.
I was running out of witty banter.
You both okay? I don't know what I am.
You a guy who just got a second chance.
Just spoke to Director Vance.
I think I made a pretty good case for the Valor Brigade staying in business.
You think the DoD will still work with them after the security breach? Well, considering the Valor Brigade was also instrumental in taking down Reed and the Marauders, yeah, I'd say they earned their keep.
Patton's earned himself a commendation.
If it wasn't for his faith in Nick Taylor, we wouldn't have solved this one.
Got to admit, Patton's a good field agent.
Yeah, and he makes it look easy.
Well, he's worked hard to get to the place he's in now.
I don't know if I could do it if the roles were reversed.
Eh, of course you could.
Patton wouldn't give you another option.
Yeah.
I was gonna buy y'all a drink, but it looks like you got stuck doing paperwork.
- Oh, yeah.
Patton was gonna help, but he had a game tonight, so we didn't want him to miss it.
Yeah, he deserves a little R & R.
You got that right.
(whistle blows) (indistinct shouting) What? (whistle blows) That wasn't a foul, man! Come on, let us play, ref! You be tripping, brah.
Hey, yo, check it out.
Yo, yo, yo.
We got a new recruit.
Glad you came, bruh.
Taylor would be, too.
Don't let these guys go easy on me.
Oh, no, believe me, I'm-a see to it that you get your ass kicked.
- Yeah? - Welcome to the club.