NCIS New Orleans (2014) s05e23 Episode Script

The River Styx, Part 1

1 Find me.
(birds hooting) (body thuds) (panting) (gasps) (phone chiming) (line ringing) ISLER: Dwayne.
- Raymond.
- It's for real? ISLER: Source panned out.
Got hard intel Avery Walker's holed up in South Ossetia near the border with the Georgian Republic.
South Caucasus is not friendly territory.
They got a war on.
We get in fast, we grab Walker, and any other Apollyon assets, we're back in Tbilisi before daylight.
This feels right to you? Got him on the hook.
Just got to reel him in.
All right, I'll monitor the mission from SCIF.
Hey be honest.
Kind of wish you were here for this, right? Just want y'all back safe.
See you on screen in a couple hours.
We got you, Walker.
Hold.
Ready to breach.
Last drone pass was ten minutes ago.
Thermal imagery showed three inside.
Looks like a courtyard.
Walker's one of them.
Let's get this son of a bitch.
PRIDE: Be careful.
Hands where we can see them! On the ground, now! What the hell? What's going on, Raymond? Abort! Abort! - Kirby, it's a trap! - Get out of there now! They're up top! (indistinct shouting) Isler? (Isler groans) NCIS:New Orleans 5x23 The River Styx, Part 1 Boom, boom, boom, boom Bang, bang, bang, bang Boom, boom, boom, boom How, how, how, how Hey, hey You gotta come on.
What happened? Intel led the task force to a compound over the Georgian border in South Ossetia.
Walker was supposed to be there.
It was an ambush.
- How many survived? - I'm not sure.
Maybe no one.
The operation was compromised.
- Who else was read in? - Me, Isler, the task force.
What about Ryan's source? Luka Osman.
Former Turkish intelligence.
He fed us the location of the compound.
I'll have Ryan circle back.
See if Osman double-dipped.
There's something else.
Satellite feed I was watching.
Moments after the ambush, I lost contact.
Someone switched it off.
Luka Osman couldn't have done that.
No.
Someone closer to home.
Someone with access to our secure comms-- We have a double agent.
Walker's still out there.
But whoever betrayed the task force is our path to him.
You want to read the rest of the team in or should I? No.
This stays between us.
Dwayne Walker knows that we're onto him.
I need to be strategic about who I let into the circle, and when.
- You need help.
Isler tried to help.
I stayed behind, and he paid the price.
And I'm gonna deal with this.
I don't want to put anyone else in danger.
You can't go after Walker alone.
Hannah, I'm asking you to back my play.
All right.
I'll make some inquiries to the intel community.
See if we can't find any survivors.
I won't give any details about the raid.
But if there's a chance that someone is still alive (quietly): Yeah.
- Everything okay? - Yep.
Okay.
'Cause you've been sitting out here for a while.
Like two hours and 12 minutes by my count.
You stalking me, Sebastian? Not as much as you're stalking Hannah, who's been in SCIF for two hours and 33 minutes.
It's, like, a weird gift that I have.
I don't have to look at a clock.
Like having a superpower.
No practical application.
Yeah.
Well, my weird gift is knowing when something's not right.
Hannah's been in and out of that SCIF room all day.
Could be administrative meetings.
Could be.
She's been taking several calls from Pride, too.
You're just gonna sit here and wait till she comes out? (clears throat) (sighs) Should I get some snacks or something? This Hey, guys.
What's going on? Can I help you with something? Uh, you could start by helping us understand why you've been in there all day.
Administrative stuff.
No, that's not true.
He's got a superpower.
And since the moment you came in this morning, it's clear that something big is happening.
Don't be holding out.
Chris, I am not holding out.
But Pride is? All right.
I'll just go to Belle Chasse and talk to him myself.
He's not at Belle Chasse.
PRIDE: You used to be a secret agent.
Thought you'd be better at the secret part.
We didn't give her a choice.
Yeah, whatever you're going through, we're here for you.
- All right? We're family.
- I haven't told them a thing.
And I have new intel about the raid.
What raid? What's going on? Apollyon.
- Avery Walker? - He's still alive.
Like I thought.
He's somewhere in Eastern Europe.
Raymond Isler and a small off-the-books task force tried to take him down, but they failed.
Walker knew they were coming.
Someone spilled the beans.
Got any leads on who? HANNAH: Ryan had a source.
Luka Osman.
Gave us intel leading up to the raid.
He's gone to ground.
He's either dead or Or sold out the task force.
Any survivors? Doesn't look like it.
Actually, that's not true.
A colleague over at NSA picked up some chatter about a ransom going out from South Ossetia.
Ransom for who? Hostage captured by local militia who say he's important.
A U.
S.
citizen.
African American.
Isler.
He's alive, Dwayne.
I need to get him.
Before Apollyon.
No, King.
We need to get him.
HANNAH: But first, you need to read in the rest of the team.
(sighs) GREGORIO: What's the play, boss? Isler's task force was compromised.
Maybe it was Luka Osman.
Maybe it was closer to home.
Dig into every task force member.
Somebody talked to someone.
Not just talked.
They were able to hack into the secure SCIF feed.
Monitor communications during the raid.
I'll find out who and how.
GREGORIO: Which leaves the issue of Isler being held captive halfway across the world in South whatever-it's-called.
Well, it won't be for long.
I'm heading there today.
- No.
- LASALLE: King Area's gonna be crawling with Apollyon operatives.
HANNAH: Not to mention warring militias.
State Department has specialists that handle these kinds of ransom situations.
PRIDE: Isler had no official authorization to even be in South Ossetia.
His entire task force has scrubbed identities.
No one even knows he's in the region.
How are you gonna get there? Task force snuck in with non-official cover as members of an NGO providing humanitarian aid.
I'll do the same.
They want $2 million ransom.
Where are you gonna get that? Still working on that.
Sebastian and I got you covered.
Counterfeit currency we seized from the Prescott Shipping bust.
Oh, yeah.
We still have that in evidence.
- We can requisition that.
- Yeah.
We just need approval from the SAC.
Consider it approved.
Get me that cash.
All right.
I got a flight to catch.
You need backup.
Someone who's been to that part of the world before.
Tbilisi.
My first overseas assignment with NCIS.
Spent three months training in the Georgian federal police.
I know the terrain.
I know the people.
HANNAH: And you don't know what's waiting for you when you get there.
It's a good idea.
Take Lasalle.
Grab your go bag.
Jet lag hitting you? Two flights ago, back in Ankara.
Hmm.
Thank you, Pete.
Probably only gonna be a day or two at the most.
I'm going back across the border to Georgia.
Can't stick around here.
I like breathing too much.
- (chuckles) The vehicle you asked for is over there.
I'm gonna refuel.
Call me when you need transport back.
You got it.
Thank you.
(takes deep breath) I like this place.
Reminds me of the woods back home.
Yeah.
Let's just get the gear in the car.
This is gonna be a piece of cake.
(sirens wailing) You just had to say it, didn't you? Here's hoping our Canadian passports work.
PRIDE: Hello.
Hi.
We're, uh We are just moving, uh, medical supplies.
Papers.
Oh, yeah.
Sure.
Here you go.
(speaking Russian) Open.
Yeah.
(speaking Russian) Medicine.
All right? Uh, doctors.
(shouting in Russian) Little help, Christopher.
(speaking Russian) Uh - What'd you say? - I meant to say we mean no harm, but it's possible I insulted their mamas.
(shouting in Russian) Okay, excuse-excuse me.
We can pay you money, give you money if you just let-- just let us go.
May I? Okay, right See.
I can just (speaks Russian) What? This is the worst rescue attempt ever.
(rock music playing loudly over SUV speakers)   (music stops) (man speaking Russian) (continues in Russian) (speaking Russian) (sighs) Here we go.
Who are you? I'm Luka Osman.
Your asset.
You know, I already paid them off.
$5,000.
You were robbed.
The going rate is 500.
I'm guessing we can't get a rebate.
Afraid not.
I'm very sorry for all the, uh, inconvenience.
I would have been here sooner, but I had to avoid firefight on the way in, you know? We've been trying to get in touch with you.
And now I'm here.
Okay, forget this rusted heap.
Put your bags into my car.
We have meeting with militia soon, yes? Get your friend back.
How'd this joker know we were coming? Good point.
Mr.
Osman? Please, for my friends, Luka.
Ryan Porter reached out to you when our colleagues' mission failed.
You never answered.
It hasn't been that safe to use traditional communications recently.
But I've kept my eye on situation.
Now, do you want to take scenic route or play dodge RPG? Let's go, come on.
Sure we can trust this guy? Not sure we have a choice.
Okay, I'll check in with you in the morning.
Yeah.
Give her a kiss from me.
Okay.
What's up? I sent Ryan and Naomi to stay with relatives in Kansas until this ends.
Yeah, if it ever ends.
Well, I-I'm just saying, Avery Walker, you know, he-he picked up the Apollyon torch.
He escaped federal prison, he's eluded capture for, like, months.
He's just a man, Sebastian, a bad one, but one that we're gonna stop.
But every attempt that we've made to-to catch him, or even find him, i-is failing.
It's like he erased himself permanently.
Nothing's ever permanently erased.
Just got to keep digging.
Sounds like you found something, P.
Whoever got into that Belle Chasse SCIF system to hack into that sat feed of that raid is good.
During the raid, the system intruder kept bouncing the signal across terminals all over the world.
But I got a taste of him.
GREGORIO: What are we looking at here? Weeks of data mining to find the origin of the hacker's signal, but I found a shortcut.
You know how he accessed the secure line? He went old school, baby.
He tapped into the Belle Chasse hardline.
Probably attached a sniffer to search for the encrypted feed.
Means he had access to the base.
Military clearance.
We need to cross-reference everyone who's accessed Belle Chasse with people connected to the task force.
- Yeah.
- Let's go.
PRIDE: What is this place? My office.
Ah, that's a word for it.
PRIDE: Lot of these are U.
S.
military.
Do I want to know where you got them? OSMAN: A man needs to make a living.
I make mine by providing "hard to come by" merchandise.
- Obtained illegally.
There's no laws here.
Eh, not ones that you are used to upholding.
Anything to make a buck, huh? Why don't we stay focused, huh? Your job is to find your friend, yes? PRIDE: Yes.
And to find out how Isler and his team walked into a massacre.
And, obviously, you suspect me.
As it should be.
But I was not responsible for their betrayal.
So we're just supposed to take your word for it? I am many things, but above all, I am loyal to my friends.
- Isler wasn't your friend.
- But Ryan Porter is.
I owe him my life, and he asked me to look out for your people.
So what happened? I met Isler on the Georgian side of the border.
And I shared with him everything that I had acquired about the whereabouts of Avery Walker.
When I found out that the mission had failed, I assumed the worst.
I was shocked to find out that Isler had survived.
And the militia that captured him? They call themselves Cerberus.
In Ancient Greek mythology, it's the three-headed hellhound that guards the entrance to the underworld.
- Really? Pretentious, I know, but they are dangerous and they are desperate.
War is not going their way, and they need cash.
Do you have the money? Counterfeit.
Boys, it's my business to know these things, but it's not theirs.
These bills, they should be good enough to fool the militia.
If not we'll all be shot in the head, yes? Who wants tea? (clears throat) He's fun.
Pride and Lasalle made contact with Luka Osman.
They'll make the trade soon.
That's assuming Isler's still alive.
Yeah.
You two were pretty close, huh? I mean, he was my boss at the FBI.
We didn't go bowling or anything, but if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here.
He convinced you to join NCIS? Kind of.
I mean, he brought me down here.
Could tell I wasn't satisfied in D.
C.
Yeah.
(chuckles) Becoming part of the team changed everything for me, and Isler was a big part of that.
- We'll get him back soon.
Yeah.
- Yeah.
SEBASTIAN: Hannah.
We found the mole.
Had to drill down because the DoD files on "Special Operations" were heavily redacted.
Special Operations? SEBASTIAN: That's the work that Isler's teammate, Will Kirby, was doing for the CIA.
He served under a former Delta Force commander, Major Thomas Dixon.
And Dixon's been out of the service for years, but he used his veteran's I.
D.
to access the Belle Chasse Naval Exchange a few days ago.
HANNAH: So Kirby broke ranks and talked to his old commander about the task force mission.
Dixon made a deal with Apollyon.
PATTON: He could've hacked the SCIF line and hop onto Pride's encrypted satellite feed.
Which means Dixon had all of those men killed.
Do we have a location? Yeah, he lives an hour away in Mississippi.
I'll contact Pride, tell him we found the mole.
PRIDE: This Cerberus militia, they gonna be true to their word? As true as anybody in these parts.
That's not really an answer.
You can ask them yourselves.
(rock music playing loudly over SUV speakers) (music stops) Let me speak to the leader first, huh? And if, uh, something happens to me, don't try to save me.
Don't worry.
(chuckles) (speaking Russian) That's not good.
Let's just hope Luka's making a deal to release Isler, instead of offering two more hostages.
(speaking Russian) Stay with the cash.
I got you covered, King.
Not sure that'll do any good.
How's it going over here? I was just trying to negotiate a fair price.
There's no negotiations.
$2 million for your man.
Your English is good.
FSB trained us to know our enemy.
Russian State Security.
We're not your enemy.
Just want my man.
Your man is U.
S.
government, you are U.
S.
government, and the U.
S.
is our Is the enemy, I understand.
But you want your money, show me my man.
Money first, then the hostage.
We need to see Isler.
Dwayne, what are you doing here? Had a bunch of vacation days saved up.
You okay? Swell.
Everyone is good? I check the money, you check him.
How much was I worth? $2 million.
The State Department agreed to pay that? State Department has no idea.
Then how'd you get that money? You don't want to know.
(speaks Russian) ISLER: What aren't you telling me about that money? We are good.
(inhales sharply) Dixon's been shot.
Let's move in.
Federal agents! Clear.
So who killed Dixon? (phone rings) Pride.
Good news, Hannah.
We've got Isler.
HANNAH: That's great, is he okay? (helicopter approaching) Pride? (men shouting) Pride? (gunfire) (helicopter blades whirring) (panting) It's coming back around for another pass.
We can't be out here in the open.
Where's Luka? No time to find out.
Let's go.
(glass shattering) (gunfire stops) They must be reloading.
HANNAH: I got two.
Two more out front.
Four-man team, not a fair fight.
- Stay down.
- Where you going? Evening the odds.
Well, what are we supposed to do? Play dead until you hear my signal.
Where is Avery Walker? This was a setup.
They led us to Dixon to take us out.
They may well be doing the same thing to Pride.
(phone ringing) HANNAH: Pride, we just walked into an ambush.
(speaking Russian) (panting) (grunts, panting) Raymond, hey.
(panting) - You okay? Yeah, just took a bad step.
I know this ain't easy, Isler.
But we got to watch our step.
Broken branches and boot prints put these guys right on our tails.
Just try to avoid loose dirt and mud.
All right.
I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting to sprint after my capture.
(exhales) Maybe you guys should just leave me behind.
- Are you kidding? (exhales) It wasn't my first choice.
Raymond, we'll just stop for a second, take a breath.
Okay? ISLER: Okay.
(Isler panting) But let's take it quick.
Gunfire stopped a few minutes ago.
Someone will be looking for us.
PRIDE: Hey.
That gunship.
- That was Apollyon.
- Yeah.
It means that Walker knows you're here and he's gonna keep coming.
- Militia, too.
They probably think we set them up.
Where does Luka fit in? He double-cross us? No time to find out.
We need to get across that border into Georgia.
Only way we survive this.
(man speaking Russian in distance) (winces) - Ow, ow, ah! - Shut up.
PATTON: Hey, where's Hannah? Still trying to make contact with Pride.
Yeah, it's taking too long.
Doesn't feel right.
Yeah, well, not much we can do from here other than work the case.
You got something, P? Only confirmation that we got played big time.
Dixon wasn't even involved with Apollyon.
He was a patsy? I thought he tapped into the hardline at Belle Chasse.
No, he didn't.
He didn't even access the base.
Wait, wait, wait.
Base logs confirmed he did.
Dixon wasn't even in the States when his I.
D.
was scanned.
Apollyon wanted us at Dixon's house to take us out.
I guess he wasn't a traitor after all.
But someone is.
Well, whoever they were, they had access to the SCIF feed at Belle Chasse.
Yeah, we may have to look a little higher up the food chain.
Somebody with major security clearance.
Doc Wade's got the hit-squad bodies.
Maybe she's got something.
- Yeah, I'm gonna go find out.
PATTON: Good.
'Cause Apollyon is not done with us yet.
(panting) We should keep moving.
Get to the border.
Yeah, sun is setting.
We're not gonna be able to make it before dark.
You won't be able to find a path? Hey, I can track a buck in the pitch-black.
Not sure I can do the same for a border checkpoint.
All right.
Let's stop here.
All right, we'll spend the night in that barn.
It'll be safer.
Okay.
Okay.
PRIDE: Looks like they're down for the night.
(exhales) (Isler panting) You holding up? Uh Nothing a week in a hospital won't fix.
(chuckles) Lucky to be alive, Raymond.
ISLER: Wasn't luck.
It's been eating at me ever since we walked out of that ambush alive.
(grunts) What has? The fact that I never should have.
We were fish in a barrel.
- Why wasn't I killed? - You're thinking Apollyon wanted you to survive? Well, how did you end up with the militia? Assuming they were tipped off.
They knew exactly where to find me.
This was all a setup to draw you out.
We're the only two left who had access to the full extent of intel from Amelia Parsons' tattoo.
Walker wants anyone who's seen it dead.
Please tell me that you did not share it.
No, but it hardly matters.
Walker's gonna cover his bets.
The team's in danger.
Your team can handle themselves.
You've given them all the necessary tools.
LASALLE: I think I found a way to the border.
All right.
So we're right here.
So, we'll take the woods straight to Little Liakhvi River.
It flows right down into the Georgian Republic.
- Yeah, exactly.
It's not the straightest path, but but it'd be harder for them to track us.
Need to get some rest.
(grunts) Sleep in shifts.
I'll take first watch.
Please tell me you made contact with Dwayne.
Well, if he and the others are alive, they're flying blind out there.
We need to help them.
Agreed, but how? Anything from these guys who tried to kill us? Can you I.
D.
them? Track where they came from? You know how Apollyon operates.
Prints lead nowhere.
Dental work is custom.
DNA has no matches.
Like they've never even existed.
(sighs) There is a "however.
" Someone's been keeping tabs on these men.
I found injection marks on each one of their thumbs.
These were implanted in them.
Looks like an RFID chip.
HANNAH: Radio-frequency identification.
Tracking their movements? I think it's more than that.
Go, go.
You're gonna clue us in, Sebastian? Yeah, I went through the operatives' equipment back at Dixon's house, including their smartphones.
They wouldn't switch on.
Damaged in the gunfight? No, they just wouldn't activate.
But now I think I know why.
(beeps) Yeah.
That chip is a personalized passcode.
It's a fail-safe.
If equipment falls in the wrong hands, it can't be used against Apollyon.
Do you think Patton can use this unit to get a lock on Apollyon's encrypted feed? Well, if he can, then we can maybe figure out where Walker and his men are, too.
(horse nickers) (rooster crows) (gasps) (grunting) Ow Hey.
Nobody woke me for my shift, man.
Executive decision.
Told Christopher you needed to get some rest.
(exhales) Hey, I'm sorry about this.
What? Dwayne, getting you involved in the task force, and dragging you back into all this.
We've always-- hey.
(gasps) It's okay.
We're good.
We've always underestimated Apollyon.
But that ends now.
We get back, take the fight to Walker.
ISLER: Can't tell you how many times I was sure I was dead in the last few days.
I think I made my peace with it.
I don't want to die.
But I'd accept it.
The worst part of surviving was I was sure that you were gonna come looking for me.
Raymond - The last thing I wanted to do was put you in danger.
And yet, strangely I knew that you were my only hope of surviving.
You'd do the same for me.
Well I mean, I kind of have to say that now, under the circumstances.
(vehicle approaching) Apollyon? No.
It's militia.
(man speaking Russian) We got to go.
Yeah.
Come on, we got to go.
Okay.
(groans) (panting) Christopher? It's gonna be all right.
Come on.
Huh? (mutters) ISLER: I think she knows not to accept candy from strangers hiding in her barn.
LASALLE: I guess we'll have to up the ante.
Look.
Hmm? Papa! (engine starts) She did good.
For a thousand dollars, I'd sure hope so.
Let's get out of here.
(grunts) (panting) That's our river.
Yeah, we maintain this pace, we'll be back in Georgia within the hour.
Militia will have trouble tracking us by the water, but we'll be exposed to the gunship.
LASALLE: The border can't be more than two or three klicks downriver.
Then let's get going.
PATTON: Pride and the others are still alive.
- At least for now.
- How can you be sure? Walker's not playing around.
His network is protected by a 256 AES encryption.
Yeah, but the RFID chip that we got let Patton exploit it.
We got access to their comms now.
And the order to attack you guys in Dixon's house came from South Ossetia.
- Are you sure? - Yeah, we're sure.
All their communications are coming through this point right here.
That's where Isler's task force was taken out.
Avery Walker's hideout.
What's that? Trouble.
Apollyon helicopter.
I was able to tap into their real-time communications a few minutes ago.
HOME BASE: Jäger Two-Six, any sign of the targets? PILOT: Negative.
Brush is thick.
Gonna take another pass.
HOME BASE: Roger.
Radio silence until you make contact.
Over.
- That's all we got.
- Yeah, but it sounds like Pride, Isler and Lasalle are still alive.
If they are, they're being hunted by Apollyon and the militia.
Can you pull up the location of my last contact with Pride? That's the site of the Isler exchange, and this is the current location of that Apollyon aircraft.
Well, if they're hunting Pride, that's the direction he went running.
- Son of a - What? What happened? They discovered that we were in their system, they gave us the boot.
That's okay.
I know where Pride's headed, and how to help him.
You gonna share with the rest of the class? You see someone? No.
But I see a way to get home faster.
(gunshot) Christopher! You all right? Yeah, it just stings.
Isler? I think I got grazed.
We need to get in the boat.
I'll draw their fire.
We're not leaving you, Dwayne! You're gonna get across that border, then you're gonna come back for me with backup.
And that's an order, Christopher.
Are we really gonna do this? He's not wrong.
Ready? Go.
(engine starts) (gun clicking empty) (men shouting in Russian in distance) Damn.
(panting) (quietly): I need bullets.
LASALLE: We're at the border, Isler.
We made it.
(grunting) I'm gonna get in touch with Hannah.
Get her to bring Special Forces for Pride.
Lasalle.
We got a problem.
I guess I wasn't grazed after all.
We're gonna find the bleeding, uh, and get it stopped.
Okay.
Yeah, sounds simple enough, huh? (vehicles approaching) Friend or foe? I'll guess we'll find out.
What are you gonna do? Improvise.
We-We're Americans.
That's going to leave a mark.
Flesh wound.
You survived? I snuck away during the firefight.
I made my way across the border last night.
Your friend Hannah called to say that you might show up here.
Isler, you hear that? Isler? Isler.
This man needs medical attention.
Hey.
Isler.
Come on, man.
Stay with me.
Where's Pride? (speaking Russian) (bird cawing) (exhales) (gun clicks) (panting) There will be no ransom for you.
(gunshots) (glass shatters) Huh? Walker.
Dwayne.
Nice to see you again.

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