Previously on "NCIS..."
This is starting to look like a...
Serial k*ller.
I found a bug in my basement.
If they're watching me, Marcie,
they're watching you.
VIRGIL: You were in pretty bad shape.
I'm a retired veterinarian.
See, if I could patch a horse...
I could patch you.
Gibbs, someone tried to k*ll you,
so not only is it my problem,
it's my job.
Thought you'd be happy to see the team.
Not my team.
Suspended.
Remember?
NCIS.
Drop your weapons.
Now we got a serial k*ller to catch,
but in order to do that,
we need to be your team.
Say something.
What do you got?
Hey there.
[GRUNTS]
Sorry. Guess I should've
grabbed a basket after all.
Never fails.
You come in for just one thing
and you leave with .
- Ain't that the truth.
- Yeah.
Got to say, though, I can usually guess
what a fella's working on,
but this load's got me wondering.
A little project on my honey-do list.
You know how it is.
I honey-do indeed.
[WHISTLES]
[HUMMING]
[MUFFLED GRUNTING]
Shh.
[HUMS]
- [MUTTERING]
- WOMAN: Good morning, sir.
Ms. Hines?
Where is everyone?
Director, good morning.
And by "everyone" you mean...?
Oh, that everyone.
[EXHALES] Um...
You got to be kidding me.
Why would Gibbs want to meet here?
Hey, guys, so glad you found us.
Jimmy, what are you doing here?
Oh, I'm just helping Gibbs
make this place
a little more work-friendly.
Yeah, by making it look
exactly like our squad room?
What? No, no, no, it doesn't.
Yeah, it does. McGee's right.
That's, uh, that's my desk
and that's, uh, Gibbs'.
Yeah, I'm here, Ellie's there.
Ellie who? Hey, uh...
Knight, you should take that desk.
No, I'm good here.
No, you should sit there.
No, no, this is fine.
JIMMY: You guys, it actually does
look a little bit like the squad room.
It's completely unintentional.
I guess I'm just really eager
to get the team back to almost normal.
Emphasis on "almost."
Morning. Update?
Morning, boss. How you feeling?
Fine.
Why?
Oh, no reason, just you got
blown up a couple of days ago.
Yeah, you remember all those
stitches in your side?
Oh, he remembers. Yeah, I mean,
you should see this wound.
[STAMMERS]
I'm gonna go do the... the...
[CLEARS THROAT]
I'm fine. Give me an update.
No update pointing directly
to our serial k*ller,
but we did find what is likely
a victim from last year.
Adding to the four that your "friend,"
uh, Marcie found.
I told you, he is not her type.
Sorry, you're just not.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Harold Bradshaw, ,
found m*rder*d March of .
Same signatures: Hundred days
apart, red duct tape,
hammer marks.
So...
the mountain came to Muhammad.
I was, uh, I was gonna
call you, Director.
But you thought I might not condone
this little off-campus gathering?
- Um...
- [PHONE RINGS]
Saved by the bell.
I got to take this.
Agent McGee.
Gibbs... good to see you again.
In a squad room all your own.
I told you I'd be playing dead.
Well...
doesn't get much deader than this place.
The question is whether you'll be
known as a dead suspended agent
or an active one.
- The same condition?
- Gibbs, come on, what will it take?
You tell me, I'll make it work.
I don't need you
to take the hit for me, Leon.
Don't you worry about me.
Come back.
MCGEE: Thanks.
We got a body.
Not just any body.
My contact at Fairfax PD says
it bears most of the signatures
of our serial k*ller.
- Most?
- Red tape,
hammer wounds.
Hasn't been a hundred days.
Why suddenly switch up the pattern?
Maybe he's trying to step his game up.
Only one way to find out.
Gibbs, if you're going, you'll stay dead
- till we get this guy.
- Yeah.
Whatever you say, Director.
I'm gonna hang onto these for now.
Until you're ready.
Boss?
Yeah, let's go.
Grab your gear.
Therefore, I regret to announce
that the search
for the remains at the lake
has been suspended.
REPORTER: Are you confirming,
then, that Agent Gibbs is dead?
No, I refuse to give up hope.
But, yes, that does seem to be
the likely conclusion.
[REPORTERS CLAMORING]
Very convincing, Director.
Well, let's hope
it convinces our k*ller.
JIMMY: Same M.O. all right.
Guy's a sick son of a bitch.
Prerequisite for a serial k*ller.
Did you get this over here?
Yep, got it.
Victim's name is Jennifer Hanover.
years old, lives in Annandale.
You're in charge, McGee, not me.
Old habits. Though I'd
happily hand back the reins.
You guys have no idea how much overtime
and paperwork is involved
in being the boss.
McGee's just feeling
like we all do, Gibbs.
Just happy to have you back, sir.
I'm not back at all, Torres.
I'm dead.
And yet you still look so amazing.
[CHUCKLES]
So how could someone b*at her to death
and tape her up out here
without anyone noticing?
Because she wasn't k*lled here.
But where was she k*lled?
I can find that out later, but, uh,
what I can tell you now is
there's no grass
or dirt in these head wounds.
Yeah, not any on the red tape, either.
The victim's listed as married.
Let's notify the spouse,
see what they can tell us.
I can't believe this is real.
Stuff like this happens to other people.
We're very sorry, Mr. Hanover.
And you're sure it's my Jen?
We are, I'm afraid.
Who could do this?
Please tell me you caught
the son of a bitch.
Not yet, but we will.
When was the last time
you saw your wife?
It was yesterday, around noon.
Uh, Jen left to go jogging,
like she does any other day.
But, um... she never came back.
And then I, um... [SNIFFLES]
I reported her missing last night
and I haven't slept a wink since.
Would you happen to know which route
Jennifer takes on these jogs?
It's hard to say.
She always liked to mix it up,
but she always managed five miles
at a healthy pace, no matter what.
So we're talking
a two-and-a-half-mile radius
- from your house?
- Yeah, and-and
I know that for sure
because of the, um...
because of the PaceBracelet
I got her last Christmas.
Jen always...
she thanks me for it after every run.
KNIGHT: There is no way in hell
I will ever get used
to notifying next of kin.
Yeah, that is pretty much
the worst part of our job.
Hey, I'm not finding this
PaceBracelet here anywhere.
Nothing at the crime scene, either.
Her husband gave us her account info.
If she was wearing one,
Kasie'll find it.
Hopefully.
Is there something else?
Yeah.
Torres.
- Yeah, what about him?
- Not a big thing.
But in the last day or two,
he's been really
eager to give me Bishop's desk.
- Yeah, I caught that.
- Yeah.
For a guy who obviously
cared a lot about her,
he sure is going out of his way
to pretend like he didn't.
One thing that I know about Nick,
that you might not have seen yet,
is that he fancies
himself as sort of, like,
a free-wheeling, "love
'em and leave 'em" type.
[LAUGHING]: Yeah, no, that's,
that's loud and clear.
Yeah, Bishop really...
threw him off his game, you know?
I think she might have left
at the exact moment he realized how much
that he really cared about her.
It's like the saying goes.
- You don't know what you got...
- Till it's gone.
Ain't that the truth.
If I were you, I would just...
- Leave Nick alone?
- He'll come around.
He's tough.
Also loud and clear.
So I hear we have
a missing PaceBracelet.
Not me. I'm pulling up its route history
on the cloud as we speak.
- What a great feature that is, huh?
- Well, great for us,
maybe, but it's like when I got my first
cell phone. Everyone said,
"It's so convenient.
You can always be reached." And I said,
"What if I don't want to
be reached?" And they said,
"Who doesn't want to be
reached?" And I said,
"Do you people even know
me?" And they said...
Kasie, I got it.
Point is, I'm not sure I always
want to be tracked either,
but I'm glad we can do it
for poor Jennifer here.
Yeah, so where was
she jogging yesterday?
Uh, like her husband said,
she ran variations
of a five-mile route
pretty much every day,
averaging about six miles per hour.
That is, until yesterday,
when she clearly ended up in a vehicle
that accelerated her speed
dramatically.
And where'd it take her?
Looks like an apartment building
on Keene Mill Road in Fairfax.
Nice. All right, text me the address.
Call Gibbs, tell him to meet us there.
NCIS!
Hey! Back!
NCIS!
- Stop!
- I got him!
I'll cut him off!
NCIS!
[PANTING]
Where'd he go? You tell me.
You didn't see him?
How the hell did he disappear?
Not only is this guy a lunatic...
He's a ghost.
TORRES: Still can't believe it.
I knew I should have stayed on the guy.
What are you saying?
I'm saying that if I would
have stayed on the guy
and you would've gone around...
We both lost him, okay?
Guys, stop.
Sometimes bad guys get away, okay?
BOTH: Not from me.
[FLIES BUZZING]
Ooh.
Knight, you got this?
That's a pretty careless cleanup.
Where there's not blood, there's bleach.
So this creep sneaks his victims in
through the back alley there.
And then finishes them off in here.
Twisted stuff.
WOMAN: I've been doing this for years.
It's not easy finding tenants
for a basement apartment.
Like, especially ones
like a nice guy like Tommy.
Last name?
Samuels, Tom Samuels.
Yeah, he's a landlady's dream.
Keeps to himself, pays his rent on time.
- Uh, always in cash.
- Ah.
By "cash," I'm guessing you mean
you never did a background
or credit check?
Well, six months in advance
made that pretty unnecessary.
But I did make a copy
of his ID
when he moved in last year.
It's not like I'm running
a flophouse here or something.
- Pretty good fake.
- Yeah, real good.
Except for the second picture
being in the wrong place.
Fake? Are you kidding me?
He still look like the picture?
Yeah, that's Tommy.
Like it was taken yesterday.
[PHONE RINGS]
At least now we have
a face to work with.
Special Agent Torres.
MALE VOICE: Hello, Special Agent Torres.
[WHISPERING]: Guys, shh.
Now, I don't know how you found me,
- but you've got to be
- Talk to him.
A lot faster than that.
And now I've found you.
So remember, I can get rid
of any one of you,
just like I got rid of your buddy Gibbs.
[SCOFFS]: Oh.
Now you listen to me, you little bitch.
You want to get rid of me?
Come and get me.
Oh, but I'm gonna make you pay.
And it's gonna hurt.
Hmm, we'll see about that. Got to go.
[CLICK]
Well, so much for keeping him talking.
Very well said, though.
[CLEARS THROAT] Excuse me.
That didn't sound like Tommy.
JIMMY: Hardly the
first k*ller to use an alias
or try to disguise his voice.
Neither of which explains
why he singled out you to call.
Well, the guy is really good.
I mean, first he blows up
Gibbs's boat undetected, then
he escapes from you guys today.
Chances are he knows
every one of your names,
and you were just next on his list.
Well, that's comforting, Jimmy.
Thank you. Well...
Why hasn't facial rec given us anything?
Still working on Tommy's true identity,
but the guy gets around.
We got these photos,
taken from local traffic
and security cams in the past week.
Been trying to zoom in
on the van's plate, but no dice.
[PHONE RINGING]
Send these pictures to everyone.
Including Gibbs?
Especially Gibbs.
McGee, on my way.
How does he expect you
to send these photos
to Gibbs's flip phone?
Don't you remember the tablet
Ducky and I sent him a while back?
Oh, you mean the thing
he's using as a coaster.
[LAUGHS] Not anymore.
That, uh, journalist Marcie
got him using it.
Gibbs's toes have officially
dipped into the st century.
- Knock-knock.
- Fornell.
It's been so long.
- Hi.
- It's great to see you,
Kasie, Jimmy.
What a great surprise.
And hey, again, great job last week.
Last week?
We're part of the same
grief support group, and, uh,
no specifics, obviously, but, uh,
he had a truly incredible breakthrough.
Which would not have been possible
without Jimmy bringing me in.
Well, what brings you here today?
Gibbs.
Where is he?
I'm, I'm sure
that you must have heard...
Gibbs's boat? No one called you?
Come on.
Where is he, really?
What makes you so sure that he's not...?
Because guys like Gibbs
don't die getting blown up
in their boats.
They die rescuing babies and puppies
from burning buildings
in the middle of a hurricane.
That's very specific.
Yet highly plausible.
Okay, Gibbs is still alive...
Yes! [CHUCKLES]
I knew that.
But we honestly don't know where he is
right at this moment.
[GRUNTING]
- Whoa, hey.
- Oh, my God!
- Oh, God, it's you!
- I got it.
- Yeah, you redecorating the place?
- Oh, yeah.
- Got it?
- Mm-hmm.
Thank you. Oh!
- It's so good to see you.
- [GRUNTS]
- Yeah, good to see you, too.
- Ooh.
I'm sorry.
You knew I was alive days ago.
Yeah, but here you are in person.
I really thought
I'd gotten you k*lled and...
I'm just so relieved, that's all.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
You and me both.
Oh, and-and your boat.
I-I-I'm so sorry about your boat.
Well, I'm sorry about your office, too.
Yeah, guy did a real number.
[SIGHS] Oh, but also thank you
for the extra protection at the door.
And I feel so much safer having
- that agent out there.
- Yeah, team's on it.
- Uh, which reminds me...
- Oh.
- Hey.
- Oh, my gosh.
See, I told you you would like this.
You ever seen this guy before?
What, you think he's the k*ller?
- Maybe.
- Oh, boy, sure doesn't look the type.
Not that there's a type to
these kind of psychopaths.
How are you zooming in like that?
Well, you know, you use your fingers...
You know, I showed you how to do this.
You didn't,
you-you never showed me that.
Yes, I did.
No, you didn't, you never showed me.
I did, too.
This guy look familiar to you or not?
No, no, he doesn't look familiar at all.
Wait a minute.
What about this other guy?
- What other guy?
- Right here.
Same hat, same glasses,
- same mask.
- That's the same guy.
Who is that?
An accomplice?
Oh.
MCGEE: We can't exactly
run facial recognition
on a KN , sunglasses and...
whatever you call that hat.
Flat cap. Looks like tweed.
Looks like an old-time paperboy.
So we have two guys in two
photos with no identities,
which means they could be in cahoots.
In what now?
Cahoots. Working together.
Oh, I know what it means. I just
wanted to make you say it again.
[CHUCKLES] What I'm saying
is that maybe the mystery
voice on your phone
could be this other guy.
And Kasie sent another photo.
Here's our guy grabbing
a cab in Georgetown
- just an hour ago.
- KNIGHT: Oh, that doesn't help us much.
Unless we match the cab number
with the time code and find
out where it took this guy.
Time code, nice. I'm impressed.
See? He's impressed.
Yeah.
You're alive all right.
Who sneaks up on somebody like that?
Who plays dead and doesn't call me?
You just answered your own question.
But I knew you weren't dead.
Guys like you
don't get blown up
on their boats; They die...
Ah.
Why spoil it for you?
[LAUGHS]
Been a few weeks. How you doing?
Good.
Real good, actually.
You still doing that
group thing of Palmer's?
That "group thing" is
a revelation, Gibbs.
You got to come to the next meeting.
Counseling has done wonders
for me and, uh, it could for you, too.
I don't need wonders.
I need a creep in a hat
to come out
of that building right there.
That's what I need.
You still chasing a serial k*ller?
From that reporter who you've
not yet introduced me to.
Um...
- Mindy, is it?
- Marcie.
Marcie.
We're getting close.
- You and Marcie?
- No, the team.
And the psycho who blew up my boat.
Of course.
It's personal now.
Always is with you.
[SIGHS]
What's that supposed to mean?
It means that you always find
some way to justify staying
in the hunt. I mean, what the
hell are you doing out here
still chasing bad guys?
- It's what I do.
- It's all you do.
And for how long, Mister...
Who Am I without the Job?
I mean, how many wrongs
made right will it take
for you to fill the void inside you?
What void?
Oh.
We all have voids, my friend.
You know,
Gibbs, you and I, we're like twins.
We've both lost jobs.
We've both lost wives.
More than one. And now I've...
joined your club
by losing a kid.
That's not a club.
It's not a club
that I would ever sign up for.
What would they even call it?
I mean, you lose your parents,
they call you an orphan.
You lose a spouse,
they call you a widow, but...
...you lose a child,
and there's nothing to call you.
There is no word for it.
That's how bad it is.
[SIGHS]
I thought you were good, Tobias.
I am good.
Not great but better day by day.
And you could be, too, once you realize
that chasing bad guys
may not be the answer anymore.
Hell, it may even be the problem.
That's him.
I got a visual.
Got him, boss.
Remember, we don't know
what this guy's done yet.
Let's move in nice and slow.
No promises, McGee.
I'll make one.
This guy is not getting away.
Excuse me, buddy?
No, don't, don't... All right.
NCIS!
Where you running to, paperboy?
[BOTH GRUNTING]
Don't move.
Seriously?
Come on, guys, I had him.
Well, that's not a bad team, Gibbs.
And imagine,
they did it all without you.
MAN: I mean, can't a guy step out
for a quick cheesesteak fix
without being assaulted
by not one but three
whatever you call yourselves?
- Federal agents.
- Uh-huh.
Sure, and why am I being held here?
Well, for fleeing
from federal agents for one.
[LAUGHS]
Fantastic phrasing,
Freddy the Fed. Ff...
Here's our problem...
We don't know who you are.
- He's a weirdo.
- Absolutely.
MAN: Then what do you know?
MCGEE: Well, we know
that there's no record
of your name, prints or face
in any of our databases.
Why'd you run?
I thought I was being jumped.
Turns out, I was.
We identified ourselves.
[SCOFFS] NCIS?
Never heard of it. For all I knew,
some nudist colony in Seattle
was after my ass again.
We have caught you on camera
more than once in the company
of a suspected serial k*ller.
Goes by the name Tom Samuels.
So you and your thugs
slammed me to the ground
and then dragged me to this horribly
lit room on a coincidence?
No such thing.
Oh, of course there is.
They happen all the time.
In fact, a Harvard scientist
estimated that over
four million coincidences
actually happen every hour of every day.
- Wow.
- The world's an amazing place.
Okay, well, if you're not
gonna take this seriously,
- you leave us no choice.
- No choice to do what?
Open that door and never see me again?
No, put your face on the morning
news next to a serial k*ller.
See who knows you.
You can't do that.
Watch me.
I'll talk.
On one condition.
We don't make deals.
Turn that off.
What, all of a sudden you're camera shy?
k*ll the camera.
[SIGHS]
All right... let's start with your name.
Name's Alden Parker.
As in Agent Alden Parker.
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
And I sure as hell hope
that your team didn't blow
my cover out there.
FBI's been covertly building a case
of its own against
this k*ller, Director.
And by FBI,
I mean me. I've been spearheading
the operation
for the last few months.
Which I will confirm with your director.
Knock yourself out. And listen,
no man or agency is an island.
I'm more than willing
to share intel with NCIS.
Really, despite your little
charade in interrogation?
What can I say?
I commit fully.
And this case has made me pretty
paranoid about who I can trust.
Especially... [LAUGHS]
After your man Gibbs' little mishap.
The little mishap that k*lled him?
Nice try.
But I caught a glimpse of him
socializing in his truck
while your agents were cuffing me.
He can't be part of this.
Excuse me?
Look, I like the man's style,
but my bosses won't
appreciate me collaborating
with a suspended agent.
Much less a dead one.
First of all, Agent Parker,
if you expect your identity
to remain protected,
we demand the same
of Agent Gibbs's current status.
I don't want whoever blew up his boat
to know that they failed.
And second,
while I understand your position,
if you want us to compare notes,
Gibbs has too much skin in the game
- to leave off the team.
- Look, Director...
Gibbs stays in the loop, Agent Parker,
whether you want him or not.
I get it, though.
Undercover, I had to stay in character
just like that plenty of
times, no matter what.
Well, video camera or not,
guy had me thinking
I was the crazy one.
Wait, is some of my stuff missing?
What stuff?
My stapler,
my coffee mug,
grandmother's letter opener.
Oh, relax. You're over here.
Bishop's desk?
Yes, but it's yours now.
Yesterday when you left, I, uh,
moved a few of your things as a way
of saying, well, welcome to the team.
I appreciate that, Nick.
- I do.
- No problem.
But I am also perfectly capable
of moving my own stuff
when I am good and ready.
And not just to help you
get over your girlfriend.
Whoa, whoa, what the hell? First of all,
Bishop was definitely not my girlfriend.
McGee, help me out here.
This is coming completely
out of left field!
I don't know, Nick, you-you
kind of have seemed eager
to give away Bishop's desk.
Dude, I don't believe this.
Don't believe what?
Just a misunderstanding, sir.
Misunderstanding, really?
Well, tread lightly.
I wouldn't want our guest
to see us out here bickering
- first thing in the morning.
- What guest?
Guest we're gonna have
in about a half an hour or so.
FBI Agent Parker will be stopping by
to compare notes on our serial k*ller.
Compare notes?
I don't expect any of you to like it,
but I do expect you to share intel
and treat Agent Parker
with the utmost courtesy.
Is that clear?
- Yep.
- Clear.
Yes, sir.
Any word from Gibbs?
FORNELL: Agent Parker?
AldenParker?
That's who that guy was yesterday?
Yeah, you knew him?
Millions of years ago.
He's a good agent.
Not a bad guy.
He was divorced, Cubs fan.
Played drums in the Bureau
band for a while...
Yeah, Tobias? I don't care.
Right. So what are we looking for?
Maybe something...
we missed.
MARCIE: First impressions.
Dark, dank.
Utterly uninviting.
It gets worse.
I was afraid you were gonna say that.
- Hello.
- Hello.
Hi.
- Oh, uh, Marcie,
- Tobias.
Tobias, Marcie.
You're Marcie?
I believe so.
Nice to meet you.
This guy says some
pretty nice things about you.
Yeah, you, too.
Minus a few details.
Our k*ller seems to be
something of a craftsman.
Kind of like you, Gibbs.
Hey, yeah! You're right.
Yeah, the k*ller has
his metal... whatever you'd call them,
and you build boats in your basement.
[MARCIE CHUCKLES]
So, where does it get worse?
Ooh.
Hmm.
She can write my story anytime.
Down, boy.
You sure there's nothing
going on with you?
- Friends.
- No, you and I are friends.
This woman you're,
you're only friends with
until she gives you the green light.
And she hasn't.
Ah, you are waiting.
No.
- And you shouldn't either.
- Why not?
If not you, then why not me?
Tobias, will you just put a cork in it?
I have neverseen you
actually jealous before.
What is it?
Gunpowder.
Well...
that was... awful.
FORNELL: Can't say you were not warned.
Did I miss something?
It appears that table is
where the creep made his b*mb.
As in the b*mb that blew up...
Forget about my damn boat!
How many people has this guy k*lled?
We don't even know.
You'll get him, Gibbs.
Hell, you've got photos. You'll get him.
Hey, what's going on with you?
Who are you calling?
PARKER: I knew about the jogger.
But not this other one.
I'll need his info.
Should already be on your phone.
We work pretty fast around here.
Some a little too fast.
Oh, and there it is. Nice.
And since we're, uh, showing our cards,
here's a victim you don't have.
Craig Mucha, .
Duct tape, hammer wounds.
Found December .
A seventh victim.
You running OmniFour on there?
OmniFive... game changer.
Yeah, you got a link?
- Already on your phone.
- Nice.
Kindred spirits.
Okay, look, uh, I know
our little meet-and-greet
yesterday got a little ugly,
but I'm willing to forgive
and forget if you are.
- Forgive and forget what?
- Well...
- you guys were pretty rough.
- Well, you started it.
Potato, pot-ah-to.
Look, I'm just trying to find
some common ground
that we can all agree upon.
And I just might have it.
Yeah, what do you got, Kase?
Ooh! So sorry.
Didn't know we had company.
Parker. Alden Parker, FBI.
Hines. Kasie Hines, NCIS.
[CLUCKS TONGUE]
And facial rec just found
"Tom Samuels" again... Twice just today.
First, at a car rental in Burke.
He's making a run for it.
And here he is buying flowers
right outside Cortland Oaks Cemetery.
And that's just a few miles from here.
And this was just five minutes ago.
All right, call Gibbs, tell him that...
Gibbs already knows.
He was on the phone
when I found the guy.
Gibbs has a head start.
Thank you, Kase.
[PANTING]
Hey, Mom.
[GRUNTS]
Put it down.
Did you think you'd just walk away?
That was the plan.
[GRUNTING]
Stop!
Boss! Boss!
You gonna k*ll me twice?
PARKER: Stand down, Gibbs, I got him.
Gibbs!
I said stand down.
MCGEE: Boss?
Gibbs?
You got him, man.
[GRUNTS]
No more fake names, Paul LeMere.
Thanks to your very real passport.
We found it neatly inside
that big bag of money
that you had your, uh,
mommy holding for you.
KNIGHT: Even in death, you still
hit her up for cash
before skipping town?
It's only a matter of
time before we find out
everything else there is about you.
Paulie.
May I call you Paulie?
No.
You may call my lawyer.
Sure, Paulie.
You gave us his number.
Maybe while we're waiting, you can
tell us why on earth
you k*lled all those people.
Not without my lawyer.
So how much was in the bag?
$ , in cash.
Plus the passport,
a few more fake IDs, and a thumb drive.
- What was on it?
- It's heavily encrypted.
Kasie's working on it now.
You met her earlier.
Yeah, not long
before I met the great Gibbs
and his Wild West g*n show.
This guy tried to blow Gibbs up.
Which is exactly why
I didn't want him involved.
Hey, Parker, you got to
understand something about Gibbs...
[PHONE CHIMES]
It's gonna have to wait.
Hey, Parker and I are
heading down to Kasie's lab.
Let this guy simmer in his own juices
till his lawyer gets here.
That's a creepy way of putting it.
Yeah, pretty creepy guy.
Yeah, creepy.
And way too calm for me.
Typical lunatic.
Like the kind who moves things
off your desk without asking.
Sorry for jumping down
your throat earlier today.
But personal space is a...
big deal for me.
I mean, for reasons that I don't
want to talk about right now.
Hey, listen, I get it. It wasn't cool.
But it also had nothing
to do with Bishop.
And I get that.
Still...
I'm not gonna move
to her desk any time soon.
Hey, that's fine, that's fine,
okay, you do you, boo-boo.
I will say one thing.
- About me?
- No, not about you.
If I had to do it all over again, I...
...I should've told her how I felt.
And that is the last thing
I will say about that.
And I mean that.
[HUMMING]
Can I ask you something
about someone else?
Okay.
Given Gibbs's reputation,
I was sure that he was about to blow
that man away when we got there.
Yeah, Gibbs' rep is
only a part of who he is.
He's a complicated dude,
but once you get to know him,
you'd understand.
- Understand what?
- Oh, I have no idea, I was hoping
that once you get to know Gibbs,
you would explain him to me.
- [LAUGHING]: Okay.
- [PHONE RINGING]
[CLEARS THROAT]
Lawyer must be here.
Agent Torres.
What?
Seriously?
[LEMERE WHISTLING]
Seriously, what?
Thanks.
That was NCIS legal department.
The number that LeMere gave us
is, uh, disconnected.
- Wrong number?
- Nope.
His lawyer has been dead for years.
So what, then, is he stalling?
Or he's playing some kind of game.
I really want
to thank you all for sharing
your personal stories.
And I promise that I will treat each one
with the utmost respect.
I'm just so relieved
they caught the guy.
I got to, I got to call
Jen's mom and let her know.
Yes, Phil, Phil.
I hope you take the time
to mourn.
There's a phone number
I'd like to share with you.
Um, someone that you might
like to talk to,
but only when you're ready.
I'd appreciate that.
Be well.
Hey.
Hey, Gibbs.
Man of the hour.
What was that all about?
Hey, so, tell me,
how did you catch the guy?
- Oh, you already know?
- Yeah.
Agent Sible, you know, the guy
that was guarding the door,
told all of us before he left.
- Told who? I mean, who was that?
- Oh.
I was interviewing some
of the friends and family
of the victims.
Uh, actually, Toby gave me the idea.
- Toby?
- He and I went out for coffee
after you left, and he told me
about his daughter
and-and his support group,
and it occurred to me
that I really need to include
the family survivors in the,
you know, wrap-up of my column.
[PHONE CHIMING]
Oh, man, I am running so late.
I am so sorry, Gibbs.
You're gonna have to tell me
all the details when I get back.
- Get back? Where you going?
- Oh!
Mitch's cabin.
Mitch?
Yeah, I'm finally taking your advice
and getting out of town for a while.
I really need to organize my article,
and Mitch is picking me up
and we're driving to a cabin
in the middle of nowhere.
Mitch's cabin.
[PHONE CHIMING]
Oh... the car's here.
Um, could you help me? Thank you.
Gibbs, say hi to Mitch.
Michelle. Nice meeting you, Gibbs.
Thanks for keeping our girl safe.
Sure, Mitch... elle. [CHUCKLES]
So, thank you...
for so many things.
Oh.
I like to think we made a...
a pretty good team.
Well, I thought we did okay.
Forever the king of understatement.
- So what-what's up for you next?
- I don't know.
Got a lot of questions
that need answering
before I decide that.
Yeah, well, I figured.
Well...
I am kind of curious about what
some of those questions are,
so let's stay in touch.
Hey, text me.
[LAUGHS]
- [CAR DOOR SHUTS]
- [ENGINE STARTS]
It's no surprise LeMere had the skills
to stay off everyone's radar.
He'd been a highly decorated Navy SEAL
before receiving a BCD...
Bad conduct discharge... in ' .
Where you at with the thumb drive?
Took a while to access,
but it does explain
where the money came from.
LeMere has an offshore account
that's been growing by $ ,
every hundred days or so.
- Every hundred days, as in...?
- Yes.
As in every time LeMere
k*lled one of his victims,
someone sent him a cool $ K.
So he wasn't k*lling for sport.
He was k*lling for money.
Guy's not a serial k*ller.
He's a contract k*ller.
Who's paying him?
It's not a who but a what.
Some kind of shell company that helps
LeMere hide the true source
of his funding.
All we have is a name... Navis Ventures.
KNIGHT: Gosh, Paul,
maybe your lawyer switched offices?
Is there somebody else we can call?
Public defender?
I don't think that'll be necessary.
Does NCIS actually have
any evidence tying me
to a particular m*rder?
Any evidence?
Like your little basement
chamber of horrors?
I mean, I sublet that place months ago.
I mean, I'm just as shocked
as you to hear what went on there.
[PHONES CHIMING]
What about...
Navis Ventures?
Am I saying that wrong?
"Nay-vis," "Nav-ees," "Navi-us"?
[GRUNTING]
- You all right?
- Go!
[PANTING]
[GRUNTING]
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
TORRES: Stop! Stop!
MCGEE: Hey, hey, hey, stop!
Whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa!
- Come here.
- [SCREAMS]
[ALL CLAMORING]
- Hold it right there!
- Kasie!
[SCREAMS]
PARKER: Hold it!
- Back off!
- Don't do it!
- Or she dies.
- Don't do it!
- LeMere, let her go.
- Right there!
- LeMere!
- Shut up!
- Kasie, just stay calm.
- Back off!
Put the g*ns down!
- LeMere!
- I'm not afraid to die.
- Kasie, stay calm.
- I will slit her throat.
- [g*nsh*t]
- [SCREAMS]
Come here, come here, come here.
[CRYING]