13x14 - Pandora's Box

[bunniefuu]

- You okay?
- This is Rosa.

DEEKS: She's gonna be assigned

to a case officer.

She might need foster parents.

CALLEN: The warrant just came through

for Katya's safety deposit box.

It seems that she's keeping something

with Crusciel & Crusciel. They handle

fine art investments.

Really? Another balloon dog?

Any more of these and we're gonna have

an entire balloon kennel.

- Put it over there.
- All right.

[PHONE CHIMES]

Oh, the plumbers are here early.

Can you unpack it
while I get them settled?

[FRENCH ACCENT]: Of course.

I'll be right back.

[WHIRRING]

♪

Grab what you can!

♪

[BEEPING]

[LOCK BEEPS, CLICKS]

[AIR HISSING]

Wrap it up!

Come on!

Time to go!

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

[WHIRRING]

[GRUNTING]

[EXHALES]

Hold up.

Didn't that just come in?

We made a pickup as well.

Don't have that listed. I'm gonna have

to take a look inside.

- [g*nsh*t]
- [YELLS, GRUNTS]

- Imbécile!
- [PANTING]

[GRUNTS]

- [WHIMPERS]
- [ENGINE STARTS]

Call the police!

- [TIRES SCREECHING]
- I've been sh*t!

We're being robbed!

ROUNTREE: Admiral Kilbride.

How's it going?

Uh, about as well
as can be expected from someone

who is forced to continually wake up

in this tear-stained yoga mat
you all choose to call home.

Sounds good. I think.

[COFFEE BREWING]

[EXHALES]

Yeah.

Gonna be a minute.

[INHALES DEEPLY]

[EXHALES]

Great weather today.

They said it looks
like it could rain, but,

I don't know, doesn't
look like it to me.

Sure wouldn't hurt.

Wouldn't hurt, wouldn't
hurt, wouldn't hurt.

You know?

'Cause of the drought.

I understand how droughts work,
Agent Rountree.

What I don't understand is
what you're doing right now.

Making small talk.

And I'm making a concerted effort

to forgive you for that.

Just figured we got a few extra minutes.

Could get to know each other.

sh**t the breeze.

Chew the fat.

- Mm.
- Agent Rountree,

I came down here for hot coffee,

not a hot take on climate change.

But I'll tell you what,
the next time I feel the need

to have a weather forecast,

I'll make sure to track down whatever

improv team you're with
currently and let you know.

What about your coffee?

WOMAN: I'll take care of that, sir.

- Oh, and don't forget the, um...
- Don't worry.

I've got it covered.

More of an Admiral Killjoy
before his first cup

of joe, am I right?

Right. Who are you?

Shyla Dahr. Kilbride's assistant.

Mm, sort of. Nice to meet you,
Agent Rountree.

Hmm. Didn't realize Admiral
Kilbride had an assistant.

I'm usually back in Washington,

but the director thought that
Kilbride could use the help.

Though he'd never admit it.

[QUIETLY]: He can be very stubborn.

[SCOFFS] Yeah. Didn't notice.

Not sure why he complains
about L.A., though.

D.C. is all backstabbing all the time.

At least here you can squeeze in
Pilates between your betrayals.

[CHUCKLES]

Uh, what's with the box?

A humidor. Gift from the director.

Hmm. Didn't realize
Kilbride was a fan of cigars.

That's weird.

You should really try
to get to know him better.

FATIMA: I don't want to circle back.

And I don't want to hear how much you do

or don't have on your plate.

I want answers, not corporate buzzwords.

[PHONE BUZZING]

I got to go. Warm thanks for nothing.

Callen, where are you?

CALLEN: Driving in.

I got your message. Do we have a case?

You might want to sit down for this.

Well, I tend to do that
when I'm driving.

Right. I just got a report from LAPD

about a robbery at Crusciel & Crusciel.

That's the art storage facility
where Katya...

Has a storage vault. Yeah, I remember.

- Was it broken into?
- That's the thing... I don't know.

I just got off the phone with them,

and they're not telling me anything.

Yeah, well, they have a lot
of wealthy and powerful clients.

They'll do whatever they can to
keep what happens there quiet.

Can't be a coincidence
that they get broken into

while we're waiting
for our warrant to go through.

No. But, either way,

we may have just found a way in
without needing one.

Well, LAPD's on the scene.

Just waiting for an update as we speak.

All right, keep digging.
I'll head over there.

Should I have Sam meet you?

No, he had to head out of town
last second

to, uh, go see his father.

Is everything okay?

I don't really know.

But I got this. Just, um...

let me know when you have more.

Will do.

KENSI: I think I'm
just a little nervous.

What if she doesn't want
to talk anymore?

I spent the last two weeks
watching every vampire,

zombie and sorcerer movie I could find.

So I'm not nervous at all.

Yeah, not all teenagers want to talk

about vampires, sorcerers or witches.

I know that. I do it for my own nerves.

- Kensi Blye?
- Yes?

I'm Elliot Reynolds,
Rosa's case manager.

Hi. Um, this is my husband, Marty Deeks.

- Hi.
- Is everything okay?

Everything's fine, but Rosa's not here.

DEEKS: Oh.

The request was confirmed two weeks ago.

Yeah. Um, where is she?

Barstow.

We found a distant aunt
that lives there.

She picked her up late last night.

That's great. About the aunt.

- Yeah.
- Not that Barstow's...

'Cause Barstow's beautiful
this time of year.

I meant to call you,
but I've been slammed.

I'm sorry you had to make
a trip for nothing.

- Right.
- Have a nice day.

Is she gonna be okay?

These kids have all been through hell.

They relive it every night
as they're falling asleep.

Then, when they wake up,

they explain every
horrible detail again to us.

I can't tell you that Rosa will be okay.

But she's with family
and has a good case for asylum.

That's the closest to okay
most of these kids can get.

I'll tell her you said hi.

Please do.

Thank you.

ROUNTREE: Fatima, we have a situation.

Kilbride has an assistant!

Uh, sort of. I don't...
[STAMMERS, SCOFFS]

Okay. You know

I love your passion, but we work

in the Office of Special Projects.

So when you say we have a situation,

I am mentally preparing for explosions.

All right. I'm sorry.

But this is expl*sive information.

Oh, no, it totally is. Spill the tea.

All right, so I looked her up.

She technically works for
the director in Washington,

but she's also an NSA analyst.

And she loves Pilates. W...

Oh.

Agent Namazi, meet
Reserve Agent Shyla Dahr.

Ms. Dahr is in town to
help me with a few things.

Well, in that case,
why don't you follow me?

Early this morning,
there was a robbery...

Uh, scratch that,

a full-on heist... at the
high-end art storage facility

Crusciel & Crusciel.

SHYLA: Art storage
is a popular business.

People buy art just to store it away

while it appreciates in value.

- Any suspects?
- Not yet.

Two of the men were masked,

and facial rec is working on the third.

But he did a really good job
of keeping his face obscured

from the camera.

Place like that has to
have security systems.

How did three men get through?

With a Trojan horse.

Or crate, rather.

A delivery guy shows up claiming
to have a priceless statue

from a client in Pasadena.

Turns out he's got two buddies inside.

And while I'm sure it's a sad
day for the art community,

I'm still not sure what
it has to do with us.

ROUNTREE: Priceless
art does have a price.

A big one.

Stolen art is sold all the time

to finance crime and terrorism.

That. And, also...

Katya Miranova had
a storage vault in the facility.

Callen found an invoice

in her safe-deposit box
a few months ago.

Katya?

That's the sociopathic powder keg

with a murderous appetite for love?

Well, it's kind of hard to keep up

with exactly who she is anymore,

which is why I prefer
to describe her as just a...

giant pain in my ass.

FATIMA: Crusciel &
Crusciel will only provide us

with the client numbers
for the five stolen crates,

not what was inside.

But, luckily, we have Katya's
from the invoice.

Whatever she was storing
in there is now in the wind.

Callen's at the scene now
to see what he can find.

KILBRIDE: Meet him there.

Agent Rountree and Ms. Dahr

can handle things on this end,

beginning with looking
into our warrant request.

In order to delay the warrant,

Katya would need to have
someone on the inside.

Or be able to pose as someone
on the inside.

[INHALES]

It's all right.

You can go ahead and say it.

Ms. Dahr has been fully read in.

Well, since Katya has the ability

to employ Callen's deep fake,

posing as someone might not
be a problem.

ROUNTREE: So, we're either dealing
with three

very soon-to-be unlucky thieves...

Or Ms. Miranova
is pulling out all the stops

to get at whatever is in that vault.

Hey.

Who let you out of Ops?

Kilbride has someone in from Washington.

She's helping Rountree,
so I can give you a hand.

How's it looking over here?

Uh, I checked out Katya's vault.

It's empty, but so are
some of the other ones,

so it's hard to tell whether
or not it was targeted.

Well, Katya's smart.
If she was behind this,

she'd want it to look random.

What I don't get is how
the thieves had the time alone

to pull this off.

Yeah, I was just on my
way to find that out.

Elena Maldonado?

Please, I already told the other officer

everything I saw this morning,

and I really need
to find something in here

that'll help me forget it.

We're actually gonna need you
to remember a bit longer.

You don't look like cops.

Yeah, that's because we're not.

I'm Agent Callen. This is Agent Namazi.

We're NCIS, and we're
gonna need you to answer

- a few more questions.
- Like I told them,

one second, I'm taking a delivery

and the next...

Ross is sh*t, and everything's gone.

You were the only registrar
working this morning.

Is it normal for you to leave

delivery persons unattended?

It's not preferable.

But-but it happens.

We're currently understaffed,

and our bathrooms
are currently underwater.

So when the plumber got here at
the same time as the delivery,

I had to make a choice.

Who called the plumber?

I did. This morning, when I got in.

All they would give me was a window

of when they would be here.

Do you have the name of the plumber

or the company that sent them?

May wood Plumbing.

Look, I have a board meeting in ,

client call in ,

and if I don't have
a Valium in the next ten,

I'm not gonna survive either.

Okay. Just go.
But stay close, all right?

Thank you.

I imagine you know why you're here.

[SCOFFS] Unbelievable.
He's gonna make us say it.

- This guy.
- [CHUCKLES]

Sir, don't listen to him.

- [EXHALES FORCEFULLY]
- He's, uh...

Well, you've met him.

So, why are we here, sir?

Because I'm old.

And I'm tired of chasing
this team around the office

like I'm some kind of a groupie
for the Grateful Dead.

I assume you're up to speed
with our case.

Uh, yeah. Rountree
filled us in on the way here.

It seems that Katya
or whoever stole the art

will want to move it fast?

You can't just sell stolen
artwork at a gallery,

- so it's gonna have to move off-market.
- Exactly.

And I believe, Agent Blye, that
you previously made a contact

in that same off-market art world.

Kim Cho. I met them
when I was undercover as Keith

looking for the painting The Cube.

So let me get a hold of Castor.

Maybe he can bring them to
the boat shed and they can help.

That's mahogany, right?

That's a funny word. "Mahogany."

Is it teak?

I'll see myself out.

Toodles!

[OPS DOORS OPEN]

I just left another message
at May wood Plumbing.

These people have been
impossible to track down.

Same with the alleged client
from Pasadena

and the delivery company

that the thieves were
pretending to work for.

But that's because, unlike the plumber,

both of these are fake.

Hopefully the plates on
the delivery van aren't.

Kaleidoscope's looking for 'em now.

But if the delivery service

is a fake, why would
the thieves coordinate a plan

with a legit plumbing company?

If they call me back,
I'll be sure to ask 'em.

In the meantime,
I was able to get in touch

with Judge Eleanor Kline.

The judge that delayed
the request for the warrant

to search Katya's vault.

Technically, she's the judge
Agent Callen asked

to hold the warrant,

claiming that it might interfere

in another ongoing investigation.

Only Callen never said that.

You know that. I now know that.

But, unfortunately,
Judge Kline never knew that.

So Katya did use Callen's deep fake.

She posed as Callen
and convinced the judge

to hold up the warrant that
the actual Callen requested.

That's so messed up.

I agree. And if I know Kilbride,

- he will, too.
- [QUIETLY]: We get it.

- You know Kilbride.
- What was that?

Nice work.

[EXHALES]

Kim.

Keith?

Castor.

Come on.

Keith, what the hell is going on?

And who's this normcore on your arm?

I hate to disappoint you, but
my name is actually not Keith.

It is Kensi Blye.
I'm a federal agent. And this...

normcore is my partner Deeks.

For the record,

I consider my style

- abnorm-core.
- Okay.

I've seen performance art
before, but, bitch...

Oh, my... this is next-level.

You played me.

Respect.

Unless you brought me here to arrest me.

KENSI: I appreciate that.

And, uh, no, you're not in trouble.
But we do need your help.

Have a seat.

Will it put me in danger?

No, not at all.

Can it?

Wow. Yeah, no, we'll see
what we can... do.

Are you familiar with
the art storage facility

- Crusciel & Crusciel?
- Ah, yes.

Good ole C&C Art Factory.

KENSI: Well, somebody

broke into it this morning,
and the thieves

made off with
about five crates of artwork.

And we're really hoping you can help us

find out where that ended up.

What makes you think
I'll be able to do that?

'Cause the last time I was with you,

that is exactly what you did.

This time, though...
[CLEARS THROAT] ...if you don't,

I will arrest you.

Damn. New Keith is feisty.

Yeah, no, the kitty can scratch.

I hate you both.

And I love it.

I'll make some calls.

Shyla just talked to the judge

who's reviewing our warrant request.

Do you want me to sit down for this?

I think I might want
to sit down for this.

I won't.

The reason the warrant
request was pending

was because of you.

Apparently, you called the judge.

You mean my deep fake did.

All right, well, at least now
we know it was Katya.

Longer she has control of our deepfakes,

the more sophisticated they'll get.

She'll never stop.

Unless we make her.

Whatever she had in that vault
had to have been personal.

She wouldn't have gone
to this kind of trouble.

She probably found out
that you had access

to her safe-deposit box,

and she knew it would lead us here.

She couldn't come get it
herself, it'd be too risky.

She knew we would need
a warrant to get inside.

So she poses as you, contacts the judge.

Buys herself a little time,
she puts together a crew,

they come steal it themselves
and get out of here.

[PHONE BUZZING]

What do you got, Rountree?

ROUNTREE: We have a situation.

I finally heard back
from May wood Plumbing,

and they confirmed that they did
dispatch one of their plumbers

to Crusciel & Crusciel this morning.

We already knew that, so again,
not technically a situation.

Don't worry, I'm about to drop the b*mb.

Turns out they didn't provide
a window of time

of when they would arrive.
It was the opposite.

So you're saying Elena
told them when to be here?

She paid double to make sure
it would happen.

[ELEVATOR BELL CHIMES]

The heist crew was never
working with the plumber.

They already had someone on the inside.

Thanks, Rountree.

Going down?

One of us is.

You got this all wrong.

No, technically, you
did when you lied to us.

Okay, do you realize
how much pressure I'm under?

I am responsible for millions
of dollars' worth of art.

Yeah, and you wanted a piece of the pie.

I would have settled for
a piece of actual pie.

No one cares how much I do here.

Okay? My paychecks

are a joke.

With rents in this damn city,
I'm barely scraping by.

When did you meet Katya Miranova?

Uh, is she a painter?

More of a performance artist.

Look, we know she hired you.

I-I don't know who hired me,
but it wasn't her.

Some guy offered me K

and I stopped asking questions
when I got the cash.

- Great. We need a name.
- I never got one.

He was a little taller than you.

Gray hair.

These piercing blue eyes
that made me feel seen

for the first time in years.

And, um, he was French.

Sexy French, not mean French.

Well, that'll narrow it down for us.

KIM: Bitch. No.

Too risky.

[SCOFFS] Andre is out.

Pico was never in.

Disgusting. See you tonight.

So, what did you find out?

Hard to find anything

when you don't know
what you're looking for.

DEEKS: Well, the robbery
was six hours ago,

so anything being floated
today is considered a lead.

The town is dry today.

Great. That was a waste of time.

Depends how you look at things.

DEEKS: And how do you look at things?

I'm already over this metaphor.

If no one's talking yet,

then no one's selling yet.

Which means the thieves
might be sitting on everything

waiting for Katya to tell them
their next move.

Or they already had a buyer lined up

- and we're too late.
- [PHONE BUZZES]

Thieves could be halfway
out of the country as we speak.

Oh...

Ooh. We may have just
got a way to find out.

Fatima got a description.

Charming Frenchman, s,
blue eyes, medium build.

Sounds more like a Tinder profile.

Hold up, you said old and French?

Like a fine wine. That ring a bell?

Could be Gerard Dupont.

[FRENCH ACCENT]: He's a legend.

[REGULAR ACCENT]:
I heard he was in L.A.,

but thought he was out of the game.

Do you know where we can find him?

Damn, you're the federal agents, not me.

We are talking about centuries of w*r.

Millions given the strength to fight,

to persevere, to wake up
every morning and go to battle.

Entire civilizations have sprung
from the earth because of it.

And you want me to give it up?

I promise you, Doctor,
I have made it this far

by avoiding things like b*ll*ts
and bayonets and a*tillery.

I have no intention
of adding gluten to that list.

[SIGHS]

Am I, uh, interrupting anything?

Always, Agent Rountree.

Uh, apologies, sir.

Are you gonna speak,

or do I have to like and subscribe

to your YouTube channel first?

- [CHUCKLES]
- Right.

We were tracing the delivery van
from the robbery this morning,

but we lost it when it pulled
into a blind spot.

But the good news is,
Kaleidoscope . found an SUV

pulling out of that same
blind spot minutes later

with no record of it entering.

Which is the long way of saying...

They switched cars.

The SUV's parked in an alley
behind a closed shop.

Request is in for the warrant.

Fatima and Callen are on their way.

That is good news.

It will be better news
when you come back later

and tell me if they found anything.

Copy that.

It's called a knock. Learn how.

[CHUCKLES] Right.

SHYLA: Kensi, Deeks,
I've got more information

about our French connection
Gerard Dupont.

- What do you got?
- Well, his career was nothing

if not prolific.

He was able to pull off
nearly heists,

all in broad daylight,
all without v*olence.

He was finally caught trying to steal

an ancient statue of Mercury

from the Royal Museum of Fine Arts

in Belgium.

KIM: Been there.

Art Basel it is not.

SHYLA: He was sentenced to five years,
released after three

for good behavior, shortly after which,

he moved across the pond to Los Angeles.

And do we know what prompted
that change in scenery?

Could be his daughter.

She moved here with her husband

while Dupont was still in prison.

According to records,
they've just had a child.

Okay, so what are we feeling
about that retirement being real?

Well, he's been a person of interest

in a few high-profile robberies.

Including the theft
of the very same statue

he was arrested trying
to steal in Belgium.

He was questioned but never
charged in any of the cases.

So I guess the question is,
Dupont's stealing,

is that just a job,
or is that an addiction?

His last known address
is a rental in Larchmont.

Sending it to you now.

- [PHONE BUZZES]
- Thank you, Shyla. Appreciate it.

Sounds dangerous.

Hmm. The only danger in your future

is Castor's barely suppressed road rage.

It's not my fault no one knows
how to drive in this city.

Said every L.A. driver ever.

Ten and two, baby.

And when you merge, merge kindly.

FATIMA: Entering the shop now.

[SOFT CLATTER]

There's something coming from the back.

Federal agents!

Wait a minute. You're...

Gerard Dupont.

At your service.

So, what do you know
about Crusciel & Crusciel?

They are an high-end art storage firm.

Emphasis on "high-end."

Hmm. Is that why you paid them
a visit this morning?

I'm afraid I know them
by reputation only.

That's odd, because
a highly-skilled Frenchman

just pulled off a heist there.

Has anyone checked on Gérard Depardieu?

How did you...

There's always an escape.

Give me that.

Handcuffs cannot hold Gerard Dupont.

Oh, yeah?

What about zip ties?

Ooh.

Rest of the building's clear,
but still no sign of the art.

What art?

Oh, welcome to Gerard Dupont's
TED Talk on playing dumb.

Look, I won't deny
my past transgressions,

but I can assure you
that I've been here all day.

You see, I'm helping them
get ready to reopen.

I've always had a deep love of pottery.

How do you explain this?

[CLEARS THROAT] Let me see.

I double-checked
he was secure, I-I swear.

Like I said.

They look like
generic work overalls to me.

Well, they just happen to be
an exact match for the ones

that were used at
the Crusciel & Crusciel heist.

There must be a thousand others

floating around the city as we speak.

This... evidence is...

[CHUCKLES] ...how you say, uh,

circumstantial?

Then, of course, there's still
the dock master who was sh*t.

He's gonna make it,

thank God, but that's
still attempted m*rder.

FATIMA: You know, you never used g*ns
in any of your past heists.

So why start now?

Unless you didn't pull the trigger.

Like I said, I've been here all morning.

DEEKS: Yep.

Got it.

All right, thanks, Shyla.

Callen and Fatima

found Dupont at the van's
location, but he's not talking.

And the warrant?

Expedited, signed, sealed and delivered.

Hopefully we can find
something useful inside.

Amazing.

Federal agents.

We have a warrant.

Clear.

Clear.

Wow, I mean, I'm no
handsome Property Brother,

but even I can tell there's
too much going on in here.

[SIGHS]

[ROUNTREE CLEARS THROAT]

[SIGHS]

Enter.

So, update.

Callen and Fatima found Dupont
at the pottery shop.

The only problem is he's not talking.

And Kensi and Deeks are looking
through his house, but...

they haven't found anything.

Anything else?

Not yet.

That strains the definition

of what I'd call an update,
Agent Rountree,

but I do appreciate your knocking.

[CLEARS THROAT SOFTLY]

Pikunico.

Bless you?

[CHUCKLES]

It's a Japanese fried chicken
spot downtown.

It's gluten-free.

Just as good as the real thing.

Maybe even gives Church's
Chicken a run for its money,

and that's a lot coming
from a boy raised in Texas.

You know, if you know anyone interested.

I think you know why,

if you choose to share this information,

that I will not hesitate to end you.

The last thing I need is for people

to think that this city
has gone to my head.

Of course, sir.

Agent Rountree.

Thank you.

KENSI: [SIGHS] This is so messed up.

I mean, it wasn't the cleanest
place when we started.

[EXHALES] No, not that.

This guy Dupont, right,
he's a convicted criminal,

and he's able to get
into the country easy enough.

And then you have kids like Rosa,

who are actual victims of crimes,

and they're locked up in shelters

just trying to fight for
a chance to do the same thing.

I mean, you're absolutely right.

Right? Nothing that happened
to her is fair,

but at least she's with
a relative, distant or not.

She's got a better chance than most.

Yeah, but sometimes those placements

don't work out, though.

- And-and if it doesn't...
- Then we will do

everything we can in our power
to help her.

Come hell or high...

Hat rack.

[CHUCKLES] I think it's "high water.

"No, no. I think I just found the
world's most expensive hat rack.

What?

[DEEKS WHISTLES]

- [SCOFFS] Huh.
- Hmm.

Seems Dupont didn't
hang up his hat after all.

Or he did,

and-and didn't.

I guess it's kind of
a Schroödinger's hat scenario.

I think the statue might be the answer

to getting him talking.

Tell me more.

Well, think about it.

What does somebody
who moved around the world

to be closer
to his family fear the most?

Being sent back.

Exactly.

[DUPONT GRUNTS]

CALLEN: Thanks, Deeks.

Look familiar?

Yes, I picked that up
at a garage sale in Reseda.

Really? Well, I'm sure
the Fine Arts Museum in Brussels

would find that very interesting.

Belgium is where you were
arrested, isn't it?

Five years and early release
does seem like

a pretty gracious sentence,
given your record.

I'm not sure they're gonna go
that easy on a repeat offender.

Being extradited to a Belgian prison

when you're trying to patch
things up with your kid in L.A.?

That'd be a shame.

But if you were willing
to work with us, cooperate,

maybe we could find a way
to keep you here,

close to your family.

Mon Dieu!

Okay, I was just the middleman.

I was hired by a woman.

I never met her,
she said her name was...

Irina Fedorovna.

That's one of Katya's aliases.

Irina, Katya, whoever she is,

she was very familiar with the facility.

She gave me specific
instructions which vault to hit.

What was in the vault?

Art, I guess. Uh,
it wasn't anything I recognized.

Where is it now?

- Where is it?
- Here's the thing.

This Katya...

she didn't think big enough.

All she wanted was the contents
of this one small vault,

and it would have been a shame
to waste this opportunity.

There was so much more there
for the taking.

You double-crossed her.

I made a better deal.

This woman who hired you
is a Russian spy,

amongst other things,

and she has a penchant for
removing limbs from her enemies.

This is not somebody
you want to double-cross.

Who was the buyer?

I don't know his actual name,
just a pseudonym.

Hieronymus.

[SIGHS]

This is what's gonna happen.

You're gonna call him,
you tell him you have someone

interested in buying some of the pieces,

and you set up a viewing.

He'll never let someone he
doesn't know set eyes on them.

Then it sounds like
you're coming with me.

Have Rountree meet us there.

Tell him to bring me a suit.

He says to "come inside. No weapons."

How we looking?

FATIMA: Remote camera's in place,
perimeter's empty.

All right, we can keep an eye from here,

but once you're inside, it's audio-only.

CALLEN: Copy that. We're going in.

[EXHALES]

We're, uh, here for the viewing.

Gerard.

I didn't think

I'd see you again so soon.

Neither did I,

but then I learned

that my good friend is in the market.

Hmm.

You can call me Mr. Carl.

Hieronymus.

FATIMA: Um, we may have a problem here.

We've got more guests arriving.

I like your style.

I like yours.

[DOOR OPENS]

[DISTANT LAUGHTER]

I was under the impression
that this was a private viewing.

Oh.

Well, apologies
for the misunderstanding.

This, my friend, is an auction.

Crypto only. But rest assured,

you'll have the same
chance of picking up

one of these pieces as anyone else.

Provided your pockets are deep enough.

Don't have to worry about that.

Hmm.

Then a word of advice.

Don't hesitate.

I expect the proceedings
to get quite, uh, aggressive.

[CHUCKLES]

All right, that's all of them.
Everybody's inside now.

Ooh, this is a real who's who
of L.A.'s underworld.

You got the Morelos Cartel,

Chinese Triad, weapons traffickers.

[EXHALES] Should we move in?

When do we get to see the items?

KILBRIDE: Negative. Do not move in.

Callen doesn't have eyes on the art yet.

REACT team's out.

But they'll still get there
before Kensi and Deeks could.

If these pieces fall
into criminal hands,

who knows what they could fund.

Do what you have to do,
Agent Callen, but be smart.

I do not want to be
left footing the bill

for million-dollar paintings
all turned into Jackson Pollocks

because of blood spatter.

HIERONYMUS: And now,

what you came here for.

Which one was in Katya's vault?

It's not up there.

Are you playing me?

No, I swear.

[WHISPERING]: What is this?

This is th-century rubbish.

What did you do?

HIERONYMUS: I'm sorry,

it seems that one of our pieces
is counterfeit.

Supposedly th century,

but according to Mr. Wen,
clearly th, at the earliest.

We should maybe go.

Not so fast.

REACT team's still ten minutes out.

We can't wait.

DUPONT: Oh, Hieronymus,

- I can explain.
- Please do.

Because now I'm curious.

Why would someone

who ripped me off show
their face around me again?

And not only that, but bring
a stranger into our midst?

You don't like strangers,

you're gonna hate this next part.

Federal agents!

[MAN CHOKING]

ROUNTREE: Drop it.

How do you like my style now, huh?

[BOTH PANTING]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

REACT arrived just in time
to nab the buyers.

Well, not all of them.

No sign of Dupont.

FATIMA: Guess he was right.

There was an escape after all.

Well, he's not gonna get very far.

He better hope that Katya
doesn't find him first.

Think he was playing us the whole time?

Let's find out. Officer.

Bring him here.

Which one of these pieces
came out of vault ?

None of them.

The contents of were worthless.

They're over with the crating.

CALLEN: "Pembroke."

FATIMA: Mean anything to you?

No.

But it must have meant a lot to her.

Don't worry,
I'm sure everything is fine.

Then why didn't she tell us what
this was about over the phone?

Because she's incredibly busy.

- Ms. Blye.
- KENSI: Yeah.

Thanks for coming back.

It's okay. Um, is-is Rosa all right?

Oh, yes, absolutely.

Sorry for contacting you like this.

It turns out, she gave
one of the other children

something to pass along to you.

Oh?

ELLIOT: Said it was important.

KENSI: Okay.

Pilar?

- Hi.
- PILAR: Hi.

I'll give you all some space.

Thanks.

Oh.

Thank you.

DEEKS: Oh, wow, that is beautiful.

Can you, can you tell us about it?

That's a Muñeca quit a pen a.

A worry doll.

Uh, we make them in Guatemala.

Rosa and I learned
we came from the same town

and became friends.

Can I?

Um, yeah. Of course.

They say if you tell
your worries to the doll

and put it under your pillow,

it will help you solve your problems.

I had one, too,
but I lost it on the way.

Why don't you keep that?

I think...

that's what Rosa would've wanted.

Is it true what she said about you?

Um...

that you're a superhero?

[LAUGHS]: Oh...

Um, I-I don't know about that.

- I...
- Oh, come on.

I have seen her dodge b*ll*ts,

I've seen her outrun locomotives,

I've seen her leap
from the tops of buildings

in a single bound.

I mean, and that was just on a slow day.

She is, for sure, a superhero.

[LAUGHS SOFTLY]

Um...

Uh, we don't have to leave right away.

Do you want to sit down and talk?

Uh, I'd like that.

Great. Okay.

Have a seat. [CHUCKLES]

So, what's going on?
How are you? What are you up to?

Well, they showed us
a new vampire movie today.

KENSI: Oh.

H-Have you seen Stake-red Heart?

Have I? Oh, my gosh,

and I have so many opinions
about this movie.

He has opinions about
everything, by the way.

You know, but, uh, she knows.

- No matter what...
- So, there's a love triangle, right?

Between a-a vampire
and a sorcerer and a, and a...

- A werewolf.
- Right, but the dude's...

- Werewolves?
- ...never wearing a shirt.

Like, why is he not wearing a shirt?

LAPD picked up the
other two art thieves,

but still no sign of Dupont.

I put eyes on his family just
in case Katya got any ideas.

- Great. Thanks for your help today.
- Mm-hmm.

Always nice having a friendly
face in new surroundings.

Sir, while this city
can be more draining

than the one-man shows it turns out...

- [CHUCKLES]...
- I think you know

that these surroundings
aren't so new anymore.

It is okay to admit a tiny part
of you doesn't hate it here.

Well, that'll be a cold day in hell.

Uh, listen, there's one more
thing I need to check on.

So, um, have a safe flight back.

Thanks.

[FOOTSTEPS RECEDING]

Figured out what was
so important about this reel?

[SIGHS] Well, hopefully
I'm about to find out.

[RAPID CLICKING]

Young Noble Maidens?

[GRUNTING]

If this is what Katya went through,

no wonder she turned out how she did.

But why'd she want something
like this back so bad?

Hell, why keep it in the first place?

Blackmail?

Motivation for revenge? I...

I'll send it to the lab, make
sure we didn't miss anything.

You know,

my son could never sleep as a child.

- The dark.
- Yeah.

I lost count

of the number of nights I spent trying

to convince him
that monsters aren't real.

Worst part about this job...

...knowing that's a lie.

[EXHALES]

[GIRL GRUNTING, WHIMPERING]

INSTRUCTOR: Again.

[TIMER CLICKING]

Pain is just a state of mind,

Seventeen.

Finish the job.

Again.

[TIMER CLICKING]

[GIRL GRUNTING, WHIMPERING]

INSTRUCTOR: Good.

Again.

[THUDDING, WHIMPERING]