I have a staff meeting on Thursday night that'll probably go late.
You free around 10:00?
I don't think so, Gary.
What was that?
Someone's downstairs.
What are you doing?
Stay there.
Hold it!
NCIS Season 8 Episode 03 Short Fuse
You look great.
I try.
All right, start wide, we're gonna work our way in.
Look this way.
Okay, good.
Right there. Good!
Look back at your computer.
Ziva, what's going on?
Tony has been selected to be on the front cover of the new NCIS recruiting brochure.
You gotta be kidding me.
Check it out.
Who's the new face of NCIS?
You're looking at it, McEnvy.
Get used to it.
There will be no living with him now.
Now?
All right, just pretend like you're working at your computer.
Yeah, that should look very natural. He does that all the time.
Like working for real?
Can we... I'm sorry.
Because...
I think my left side is better, and we're doing a lot of...
Did Gibbs authorize this?
Nope, wasn't consulted.
You're up. Marine sh*t and k*lled an intruder in Arlington.
Special Agent Gibbs, Ron Sands, Public Affairs.
I know who you are, Sandy.
Special Agent DiNozzo can't leave, Sir.
We're not finished with him yet.
I'll drive, Boss.
All right.
Take five.
Hey, Boss?
Police think it was a home invasion robbery gone bad.
Back door was jimmied.
Guy clearly had no idea whose house he was breaking into.
They ID the body?
No. No wallet, no car keys... Don't even know how he got here.
Only thing he brought with him was a g*n.
Intruder's w*apon.
Serial number's been filed off. Maybe Abby can lift something.
Get the fingerprint scanner.
DiNozzo, make sure you check upstairs.
Just about to, Boss.
Hey, Tony. Can you help me with this?
Are you wearing makeup?
This in Afghanistan?
It was two months ago.
Kandahar.
You take the picture?
I am the picture.
You're a b*mb tech.
Just being a regular office POG didn't cut it for me.
Any regrets?
Still got all my fingers.
It's my team leader.
I'm on call.
911 call was at 2:25 a.m.
That's pretty consistent with the time of death.
Three sh*ts, she says?
She certainly knew where to put them.
Yes, Sergeant. I understand.
Get her statement?
Don't you guys work out of the Navy Yard?
They received a b*mb thr*at from an anti-w*r group.
Where on the base?
Aboard the ceremonial ship, the USS Barry, I need to go.
When do I get my w*apon back?
When we're finished with it.
Nice apartment.
What?
She said she was alone last night?
Yeah.
I don't think so.
Why?
I was poking around upstairs, like you asked me to, and I noticed there was a queen-sized bed with both sides rumpled.
And that does not mean anything.
I do not make my bed every day.
But I bet you sleep on the same side of it.
That it?
Nope.
Toilet seat was up.
Maybe she's more Marine than I thought.
Boss, we're having a problem here. I can't get a scan.
Wait a minute.
His fingerprints have been removed.
Imagine that.
A burglar that doesn't need gloves.
There's talk that after the recruitment brochure is published, I may do a promotional tour of college campuses.
Frightening thought for the co-eds of America.
They're gonna put a giant cardboard cutout of me in Career Services to greet new applicants.
Abby, why's the music so loud?
I'm trying to drown out the sirens. What's going on out there?
The b*mb thr*at on the Barry.
Okay, then why aren't you guys out there investigating that instead of being in here, bugging me?
Agent Krone is handling it.
We need your help.
I'm... I'm a little busy.
I have to get the serial number off this g*n.
Okay. Facial recognition, nothing yet, huh?
No, McGee. I would've called.
I've run him through every U.S. database and got nothing, and now I'm running him through Interpol.
Doesn't make sense.
This guy's obviously got a criminal past.
Why else would he have his fingerprints removed?
I emailed you an audio file, okay, 'cause there's a background sound I need you to enhance?
How did you get the password to my account?
McGee gave it to me.
Thanks, McGee.
What? No, I didn't. I...
There was no handing out of any password.
He did.
No. No, I, no, what...
911 operator. What is the nature of your emergency?
I just sh*t a man who broke into my house.
What's the address? We'll dispatch an ambulance.
Don't need an ambulance. There's no rush.
He's dead.
She sounds really calm.
She diffuses bombs for a living.
Right.
Okay, wait. Here it comes. Listen.
'Scuse you, McGee.
Play it again.
There, see? That sounds like a voice.
Sounds like a TV? Radio, maybe?
No, cause the phone call goes on for two-and-a-half minutes, and, you only hear it once.
Okay, let's listen.
Couldn't call earlier. I'm on my way.
It's a man's voice.
Someone else was there.
I knew she was lying.
Sergeant Dempsey grew up in Greenough, Montana.
Became a local celebrity when she filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Board of Education.
They wouldn't let her play high school football.
One year of Junior College, then she enlisted in the Corps.
Basic training at Paris Island, 2 tours in Iraq with a Civil Affairs group and then E.O.D. school at Eglin Air Force Base.
Disciplinary actions?
Yep. Three of them.
One for fighting, two for questioning authority.
Clearly, she doesn't play well with others.
Family?
Never been married.
Parents divorced, and one brother, living in D.C.
Boyfriend?
No one came up.
So, I ask you once again, who was the guy on the phone talking and why did she lie to us about it?
There's no hardwired phone in Sergeant Dempsey's residence, so our mystery caller had to be using his cell.
Checked the local towers that hour.
Usage was very low.
And we know the time of Sergeant Dempsey's call to 911, that was 2:25 a.m.
That exact moment, there were only 32 other cellular calls in progress.
I can run them down.
Pressure Dempsey.
Can you track her down for me, Ziva?
Thanks.
Sure.
Hey, Tony, how's it going?
Hey, Ron. You need something?
Truth is, I'm under the g*n, here.
I gotta get the artwork to the printer tomorrow, but I'm not really sure I have the cover sh*t just yet.
I have an idea.
How about that? It's a beautiful booking photo.
Green does bring out my eyes.
That's pretty good.
Heather Dempsey's not answering.
But there are still emergency vehicles in front of the ship.
What's going on?
There's a b*mb thr*at.
On a ship? Sounds like a pretty good photo op.
You guys mind if I tag along?
That's not a good idea.
You should really ask Gibbs first this time, Tony.
Grab your photographer, Ronnie.
So what do you think he used? Acid?
Possibly. There are several methods.
Pineapple, for instance.
Pineapple?
Yeah, in the 1920s, a cat burglar named Nigel Hubbard left no fingerprints.
Baffled Scotland Yard for years.
Pineapple contains an acid, pectin.
Hubbard pricked... each of his fingertips several times and then soaked them in the juice of the fruit.
It was very painful, but effective.
Columella-labial junction.
The outer portion of his nose, here...
No, no, no, no, not his. Mine. I have a confounded itch.
If you would be so kind...
I hate it when it does this.
Wait, wait...
Am I interrupting something, boys?
Have we come up with a name for this fellow yet?
No. I was hoping you'd help with that, Duck.
Yeah, we may be able to winnow it down a bit.
His age, for example.
Based on dentition and his bones, I would say he's a man of between 55 and 60 years of age.
Okay, that's a start.
There's more.
His liver is not his own.
Transplant.
And by the look of the sutures and the type of procedure used, I say it was done 15 to 20 years ago.
And liver transplants weren't all that common back then.
We haven't finished, so there may be more.
I've just been regaling Mr. Palmer on the methods used by criminals to remove their fingerprints over the years.
It's fascinating stuff, as is the whole history of dactyloscopy.
It goes back to Edward Henry, Inspector General of Bengal, who in 1897...
What do you got, Agent Krone?
Ship's been evacuated. Some kind of anti-w*r protest.
Phoned in a thr*at.
And we found a suspicious backpack down below.
You guys are investigating a sh**ting, right?
You need some help? I'd love to show Agent Gibbs what I can do.
Think we got it covered.
I have worked at the Navy Yard for 5 years and I have never set foot on this boat.
Ship.
Whatever.
It's used for ceremonial purposes, open to the public for tours.
I'll be topside, if you need me.
Hey.
Hey, you busy?
I wish. Robbie the Robot's doing my job.
And where is that?
Two decks down.
Dogs found it.
Micro-sensors on the robot sniffed spectral signature of expl*sive compounds.
Who's he?
Public Affairs Officer.
You brought your publicist with you? To a b*mb thr*at?
Can we talk?
Little busy right now, Agent DiNozzo.
Got contact.
I'll be standing by.
It's against the law to lie to a federal officer.
You want to change the statement you gave us this morning?
We know you weren't alone last night.
Really? Who was I with?
We don't know, but we're gonna find out.
Come on, just one more inch.
Damn!
It's hooked on the pressure release valve.
I'm having trouble getting it off.
Enough with the toys, Master g*ns, let me go in.
I'm giving it another sh*t, Sergeant Dempsey.
All right, come on.
I'm suiting up.
Go.
I'm taking one more sh*t at it.
What did I miss?
Nothing. It is still snagged.
I'm gonna reposition the robot.
If it had a motion sensor, it would have gone off by now.
You have no idea what's in there, Dempsey.
Back the robot out. I'm gonna need room.
Backing it out. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Robot clear and deactivated.
Watch your six, Dempsey.
Careful, Dempsey.
Are you clear to release it?
Affirmative.
I'm taking it off the pressure relief valve now.
See? No problem.
Get it to the containment vessel.
I'm here. I'll just disarm it now.
Don't be stupid.
Just gonna take a look inside.
Gutsy.
Or crazy.
What do we got?
Trouble.
There's a timer. I'm out of here.
She all right?
Get a corpsman!
Yes, Sergeant.
You okay?
You were right.
That was stupid.
DiNozzo and David?
Just called from the infirmary.
Sergeant Dempsey's gonna be okay. They're keeping her for observation.
Apparently, that b*mb was more flash than bang.
Someone's making a statement.
Special Agent Krone's problem now, not ours.
Got something on your mind, Tim?
I eliminated every cell phone that was in use during the time.
Dempsey called 911.
Every cell phone except one.
Got a name?
And it's not going to be easy.
Spit it out, McGee.
It's a secure phone, registered to the FBI.
Supposed to be here an hour ago.
My daughter had a performance.
Be nice to me.
I just spent two hours with our ex-wife.
She mention my name?
Not for years.
Hey, you shaved your beard.
That's very observant.
What is that?
It's rice.
I thought you were picking up cheeseburgers.
It's lamb curry from the Punjab Express.
We both agreed we hate that place.
We did, but I got a twofer coupon in the mail.
Well, did you order it spicy or mild?
Atomic.
So whose cell phone was it?
Why do you need to know?
Home-invasion robbery. A Marine sh*t an intruder.
Whoever had that cell phone was there.
Doesn't sound right.
Marine's female.
Attractive.
He was with her at 2:00 in the morning.
She's covering for him.
An affair? No way.
Who is he?
The guy's high up in the Bureau.
Way above our pay grade, Jethro.
Only did one field tour.
Worked his way up through bureaucracy to the highest levels of the FBI.
He's as straight-arrow as they come.
Give me his name, will you?
Gary Tolin.
Executive Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigations Division.
Got another cereal bowl?
g*ns usually speak to me.
They tell me what I need to know.
You, sir, are not cooperating.
This is getting scary.
Dr. Mallard talks to the dead, and now you're talking to evidence. Never mind.
It usually works with firearms.
This one's just not saying a peep.
The g*n's owner is talking.
Sort of: "We need your help".
Well, I need a break.
You, don't go anywhere.
What do you need?
We know the intruder had a liver transplant between 15 and 20 years ago.
So I'm not sure how complete your older databases are, but could you...
Run a computer search of the transplant list and narrow it down? What do you have so far?
Let's see here. Male, Caucasian, approximately 55.
73 inches tall, green eyes, brown hair, blood type A-positive.
And, at one point in his life, fractured his L5 vertebrae.
Okay, I'm on it.
Bye.
Go away.
What?
Back to the duck pond.
Right.
You weren't alone, Sergeant.
Really?
Your people keep telling me that.
Who was I with?
Executive Assistant Director Gary Tolin of the FBI.
What was going on?
What do you think was going on?
I'm tired of the game, Sergeant.
Answer the question.
He was speaking at a seminar on t*rror1st thr*at assessment.
We met at the cocktail hour afterwards. Started talking, hit it off.
Found him sort of cute.
I invited him back to my place.
For coffee.
How detailed do you want me to get?
We're consenting adults.
His being there had nothing to do with the robbery.
After I sh*t the guy, Gary panicked, told me he was married.
Told him to go home.
I'd cover.
That was it.
We already gave you an opportunity...
Can I talk to you outside?
I don't buy it.
What?
Them.
Her with him.
She's young, hot...
Marine b*mb tech.
He's an old suit.
Well, I find certain older men... attractive.
I don't like being embarrassed in front of NCIS agents, Fornell.
They're investigating a death.
You were a witness, and you didn't report it.
My being at her house had nothing to do with the robbery or the sh**ting.
It was a... stupid indiscretion, which I hope will be kept from the Bureau and my wife.
Tell Special Agent Gibbs I will cooperate fully with the investigation.
But I'd appreciate it if all communications would go through you.
I'll pass that along.
Come on. Come on. Come on.
You said you had something.
I do.
I said we'd be right up.
I know, but it couldn't wait.
I just wanna show you what I found before we go to Gibbs.
The computer results are in.
Between 1995 and 2000, 18, 212 people had liver transplants in the United States.
Of those, 10, 014 were male.
Now, if we factor in the deceased's race, blood type, age, height, hair and eye color, our possibilities have now shrunk to 116 men.
Of those, only three had a fractured vertebrae.
She's done most of the agents' work.
No, I've done all of it.
Of the remaining three, one d*ed in 1997.
One of them is in a nursing home in Peoria.
And, ta-dah, our winner is Glover Reese, formerly of Baltimore, Maryland.
Current address unknown.
It's definitely the same guy.
Well, this Baltimore mug sh*t was taken in 1980, before files were digitized.
Explains why we didn't get a hit on facial recognition.
What do we know about him?
He was born in 1952 on a small farm in Maryland. Moved to Baltimore as a teenager.
Quite a juvenile record.
That's for sure.
In the '70s, he had several busts. Petty theft, as*ault and battery.
And then, in '78, he graduated to the big time.
Attempted m*rder.
Spent ten years of a 15-year sentence at Jessup.
Ironically, he got his liver transplant when he was there courtesy of the State.
We paid for that, right?
A year after his release, he stopped checking in with his parole officer and disappeared.
Never to be heard from again.
Au contraire, Boss.
This is the part I think you're really gonna love.
His fingerprints were found at the scenes of two unsolved murders.
Good reason to have your prints removed.
Who'd he k*ll?
A union boss in Philly and a millionaire playboy in Palm Beach.
Both suspected to be contract hits.
Really?
Glover Reese wasn't a burglar.
He was a hit man.
Checked with Tolin's office again. They still haven't heard from him, and his cell's turned off.
Find out if your Marine lady had any enemies?
DiNozzo's going to talk to her.
I'll bet the house Tolin's the hit man's target.
I'm not going to take that bet.
We, at the FBI, do tend to piss people off.
Whoever wants him eliminate is gonna hire somebody else.
You got to put him in custody.
You got to find him first.
Excuse me. Mrs. Tolin?
Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS.
We're looking for your husband. Is he at home?
Where we can find him?
He came home a couple hours ago, packed a bag and rushed off.
Said it was Bureau business.
Told me he might be gone a couple days.
Did he say where he was going?
Are either of you married?
Divorced?
I don't know how it was in your marriages, but I've been a Bureau wife for 23 years, and Gary either can't or won't tell me about his work.
I have no idea where he went.
If you hear from him, would you have him give me call?
The FBI doesn't know where he is?
Is something wrong?
We're not sure.
But just to be safe, I'm going to have agents stationed outside the house.
Now you're scaring me.
I'm going to make some phone calls, see if Tolin is on "Bureau business".
Think she knows he was fooling around?
If she doesn't know, Tobias, she suspects.
Hey, Ron.
It's Tony DiNozzo.
Listen, I've been looking through the pictures that you sent, I don't know, I can't put my finger on it, but there's something off.
Think I'd like to talk to you about it.
Give me a call when you get a chance. Thanks.
Hey, Sergeant. How you feeling?
This official business, or did I get a reputation this morning as an easy hookup?
We identified the man you sh*t.
He's wanted for two unsolved murders.
So, what, you're here to give me a medal?
He wasn't a burglar.
He was a contract k*ller.
You have any enemies?
None that want me dead.
You got off duty at 1600. Where you been?
I was having dinner with my brother. Want his number?
We may have to put you under protective custody.
This has got to be about my friend at the FBI, not me.
We're working that angle.
But I'm not buying your story.
I mean, of course, I understand why Tolin was turned on, but why were you attracted?
You an expert in these things?
As a matter of fact, I am.
I've always had a father complex.
We through?
I've had a tough day.
Morning, Ziva.
Morning.
What is this?
Downloaded the cases Gary Tolin supervised over the past five years.
Hopefully, we can find out who wants him dead.
Of course, you got permission to copy those files?
There's an index at the front.
Arlington police found an abandoned stolen car a couple blocks from Sergeant Dempsey's house.
You think our hit man used it?
I think he had to get there somehow, and it was hot-wired.
Explains why he didn't have any keys on him.
It's been towed into our evidence garage.
I found out.
Tolin is not on Bureau business.
Told the Director he wanted a couple personal days.
Tells his wife another thing.
Obviously, my gut is not in your league, but it tells me that Tolin and Heather Dempsey are hiding something.
It's more than just a one-night stand.
This is a load of cases.
Public corruption, civil rights, organized crime, dr*gs, kidnapping.
Tolin's an EAD.
He's got his hands in everything.
This could take forever.
Tolin is one of yours. Why isn't the FBI doing this?
Until we know more, we're running things from here.
Be right down.
Gibbs is on his way down. You want to meet him at the elevator?
You go ahead.
What are you doing?
I am anticipating Gibbs' next move.
You're such a chess player.
You've only had the car for ten minutes. That's fast, even for you.
I found this camera under the front seat of the car.
Sergeant Dempsey was the target, Boss, not Tolin.
Get her in here.
I've been tracking Dempsey's cell, and she is in McLean, Virginia, about six miles from her place.
Call her.
She just turned her cell phone off.
Must have seen our caller I.D.
Where in McLean?
Howard Rehabilitation Center.
McGee, go on.
Take Ziva with you.
Where are we going?
To find Sergeant Dempsey.
Amigo, we bet on the wrong horse.
That hit man was after my Marine, not your EAD.
That doesn't explain why Tolin's off the grid.
I'm telling you, those two are up to something.
Excuse me.
I wonder if you could help us.
I'll try.
We're looking for this person, and I thought she might be here.
You just missed her.
You know her.
She comes almost every day to visit her brother.
Her brother?
Judd Dempsey.
Thanks.
Pardon us.
Agents McGee and David.
We're looking for your sister.
Got to be about the burglar she sh*t.
She told you?
This has really been a crazy year for us with g*ns.
What do you mean?
Heather kills a thief, and I get sh*t in the back.
That's why I'm in this.
What happened?
I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I got caught in the crossfire of a drug turf w*r between rival gangs in Southeast DC.
Judd Dempsey was an innocent bystander.
He's paralyzed from the chest down.
He was working at a Fourth Street homeless shelter.
A really sweet kid.
They are very close.
She was in Afghanistan when it happened.
Get the sh**t?
Yes, they did.
Gene Abbott. It's a local dealer.
After his arrest, he cooperated, named names, was granted immunity and given a new identity by the Justice Department.
Guess who recommended the deal.
Everybody's favorite FBI Executive Assistant Director, Gary P. Tolin.
More than just a one-night stand?
Heather Dempsey?
Come on.
You know what this is... It's Body Heat.
The 1981 classic with William Hurt and Kathleen Turner.
As much as I hate Tony's movie analogies, I think he's right on with this one.
Heather Dempsey wanted revenge.
She needed Abbott's new identity.
She didn't bump into Tolin at the seminar by chance.
She went there looking for him, and then she Kathleen-Turnered on the body heat and got him back to her place.
More than once.
She lied to us. They met before the Seminar.
I checked Tolin's cell phone history.
He was at Dempsey's residence several times over the last 2 weeks.
She seduced the new name and identity from him.
That's why Tolin's been acting so squirrelly.
Heather Dempsey's gonna k*ll Abbott.
Sergeant Dempsey's team leader has not heard from her.
Put out a BOLO on her and her truck.
Got nothing.
Her phone's still off.
Obviously, she doesn't want to be found.
You think Abbott hired the hit man to k*ll her?
He would if he found out she was looking for him.
I'll be right up.
Let's go. You're with me, poster boy.
Tobias, what do you got?
I apologize for disappearing, Agent Gibbs.
I needed some time to sort some things out.
You want to tell us what really happened between you and Heather Dempsey?
I wouldn't admit it at the time, but I let myself be used.
I should have known something was wrong.
A woman like Heather coming on to me?
All she really wanted was information.
Gene Abbott's new name and location.
You gave it to her.
I wasn't thinking... clearly.
Abbott's living on a farm in Eldersburg, Maryland.
I want you to know that I'm preparing a letter of resignation detailing everything that's happened.
It will be on the Director's desk by the end of the day.
I'm not excusing what I've done, but...
Heather did say that she just wanted to confront Abbott.
And you believe that.
That's her pickup right there.
Check the house.
This is just way out of control! You're crazy!
What, you're not enjoying yourself?
You look like hell.
I can't take this anymore.
Then you know what to do.
Make a sharp move, Gene.
It'll all be over.
But you can't do it,
'cause you're a coward.
You ratted out your homies just to stay out of jail.
I'll put you out of your misery...
when I'm ready.
You guys are good.
Help!
She's sick!
This thing, it has a motion sensor.
If I move, I'm dead!
So how long has she been here?
A couple days.
Boss, I can call the b*mb squad if you need.
I don't know.
We got our own EOD tech right here.
Call the b*mb squad!
Gonna have to answer some questions first.
What?
You put out a contract on Sergeant Dempsey?
What's the blast radius?
About 15, 20 feet.
See, I understand if you're reluctant to answer.
You probably want to talk to your lawyer first.
We could get you one by tomorrow morning.
Although, for a good one, that's gonna take a couple days.
All right...
All right.
"All right" what?
I put the hit out.
Now get this thing off me!
I want to make sure you don't feel coerced, that you're volunteering this information.
It was done in self-defense.
Explain.
A neighbor said she'd been nosing around.
He took down her license number.
When I found out who she was...
You decided to get Sergeant Dempsey before she got you.
How'd that work out for ya?
You don't want to ruin your life for this guy.
Go on.
Take it off.
You can do it.
It's a fake.
Yeah, I wanted him to suffer.
To feel a little bit of what my brother feels every day.
Stuck in a chair.
Constant pain.
Unable to do the simplest things without help.
At the mercy of others.
Italian?
Si. Pasta puttanesca.
My nonna's recipe.
Wait till I'm done.
It's good. What's the occasion?
I'm trying to curry favor.
Gene Abbott was charged with conspiracy to commit.
Criminals are stupid.
He didn't realize that the new crime wasn't covered by his immunity?
What're you going to do about Sergeant Dempsey?
Nothing.
She's a hero as far as I'm concerned.
The A*F doesn't see it that way.
They're debating which charges to file: kidnapping, as*ault, thr*at of bodily harm.
The b*mb was bogus, Tobias.
Good luck finding a jury that will convict.
You gonna wash up?
What is he doing here so early?
He has not beaten me in over a month.
I don't know.
Mid-year reviews aren't till December.
What's going on?
For your information, the recruitment brochure's going to the printer.
Ron Sands is up with the Director right now getting the mockup approved.
It's a big day.
If you guys would like autographed copies of the brochure, I can arrange that.
Here he comes.
What'd the Director have to say?
He was very pleased. It looks beautiful.
Use the sh*t of me at my desk on the cover?
I know, one of the ones from aboard the ship.
That was your idea, too.
It was my idea, but we didn't use that one either.
Abby's lab?
sh**ting range?
Break room?
Which one did you use?
The Director wanted the image of NCIS to be one of authority... and integrity.
Leadership.
Isn't that a piece of your shoulder in the background, Tony?
Yeah, it is.