NCIS (2003–…): Season 15, Episode 16 - Handle with Care - full transcript

(birds singing)

(whoops)

Hell yeah!

I win again.

No way. Sweeney,

you a sandbagging son of a...

I'm not paying.

Yeah, are we sure it
even hit the target?

Oh, it hit the target, Cooper.
Pay up.

Ah, you must've messed
with our sights, man.

Sure, the sights-- yeah,
that's the problem.

Hey, how about
double or nothing?

You want to give me
all your money, that's fine.

Oh...

(both chuckle)

DALE: Well,
well, well.

Looks like you're not such a
hotshot after all, huh, Sweeney?

Sweeney.

Sweeney!

*

How did I never
know this?

I'm telling you, the elevator
close-door button is a placebo.

Same with crosswalks.

Wha... So, we've just
been pushing it

all these years
for no reason?

Yeah, it's crazy, especially
when recent studies show

that levels of bacteria
on elevator buttons

can be 40 times higher
than on public toilet seats.

(growls in frustration)

You okay, Nick?

McGEE:
Nick?
Huh? Hey, guys.

Everything all right?
No!

You want to
talk about it?

I got a letter
from the IRS.

They want my leave
and earning statements

from when I was undercover
in South America.

I mean, who keeps
an LES from five years ago?

I do.
I do.

REEVES:
I once had a friend
at MI6 whose taxes

got messed up when he was
undercover in Borneo.

Took him years to pay off.
How'd that happen?

He tried to write off
a helicopter as his company car.

Palmer finished the body
that came in last night.

I'll be down in Autopsy.

Well, I thought Spain
said he had heart failure.

They did.

Do any of you do
your own taxes?

Palmer.

Duck.

(laughs)
Well, good morning.

Good morning, Jethro.

No doubt you're
wondering why I'm here.

Well, I don't know.
Maybe you missed us?

(laughs)
Well, true as
that sentiment

may be,

the university is
on spring break,

and I'm here in town
to handle the second

of life's two certainties.

And when Dr. Mallard stopped
by this morning, I invited him

to have a go
at the first.

Yeah, death and taxes, Jethro.

What do you got, Jimmy?
Well,

Petty Officer Sweeney definitely
died of a cardiac arrest.

But the real question is why.

23 years old,
active-duty sailor.

He just had a physical
last December, Gibbs.

He passed with
flying colors.

DUCKY: Not exactly
the ideal candidate

for heart failure.

Maybe he had help.

Perhaps, but we haven't
been able to find anything.

Most certainly no puncture
wounds that would indicate

the injection
of a toxin.

I sent blood samples and his
stomach contents up to Abby.

Yeah, maybe
she can find the answer.

Keep me updated?
Mm-hmm.

Hey, Duck, maybe stop by
for a little bourbon

before you head out of town?

I'll bring some Scotch!

Hey, Abby.

What do you got?

McGee, buckle up,
'cause I got a lot.

So I found cyanide in Petty
Officer Sweeney's blood.

How do you think it
got in his system?
That's a good question,

and the answer is tragically.

Death by cookies.

Cookies?

Yeah, frosted almond cookies
with little almond bits

and some poison mixed in.

Where did he get
poisoned cookies?

I called Spain, and they said
there is nothing close

to a frosted almond cookie
on their whole base.

Maybe something from
his personal effects?

And we are on the same page.

This is a care package that was
sent from Franconia, Virginia.

And I wouldn't eat these
if I were you.

Well, is there anything
here that we can work with?

Other than James Sweeney's
own fingerprints?

There was no hair,
no DNA, no forensics.

Hey, what are these?
Those...

are the kicker.

Hmm.

He sent the package.

Okay, everybody,
I just got the new list

of deployed sailors
and Marines from the Navy.

I'm gonna put 'em
on the bulletin board

if you guys need a name
to put on your boxes.

Hey, Tom, where's
your box going to?

It's going to my wife's
sister's youngest son.

Uh, what's your
special touch today?

My wife made banana bread.

Nice. Did you get
your new pictures yet?

Yeah, sure did.
Check it out.

It's too bad they couldn't edit
all the ugly out of these, huh?

Hey, man, what you
talking about? I look like

Denzel Washington and Wesley
Snipes rolled up in one.

(scoffs, chuckles)

McGEE: Excuse me,
Mr. Ross?

Oh, yeah, hey, guys.
Have a seat anywhere you want.

The boxes are right over there.

Oh, we're with NCIS.

Uh, we have a few questions
for you.

Oh, wow. Uh, yeah, ask away.

Uh, anything you got to ask me,
you can ask me in front of them.

Well, I'm afraid we can't.

We're gonna need you to come in.

What's this all about?

One of your care packages
killed a sailor.

BISHOP: Petty Officer
Second Class James Sweeney.

McGEE: 23 years old,
married, no kids.

He owns a home in Virginia
with his wife Emma.

Parents were killed in a car
crash when he was 16 years old.

Record?
Spotless.

What about our suspect?

TORRES:
Retired Marine
Sergeant John Ross.

He sends out care packages
every day from

his Legion Hall
in Franconia, Virginia.

Every day?

Got him set up in interrogation
whenever you're ready.

GIBBS:
We sure that Sweeney's package

was sent by Ross?

Contents are consistent
with the packages

he sent in the past.

And not to mention
his pictures.

That's the Prisoner
of War Medal.

Yeah, Ross was held captive
for five years in Iran

after being taken during
the raid on the U.S. Embassy.

He was on duty
as a Marine Security Guard.

ROSS:
Are you Gibbs?
(door closes)

I didn't, uh...
I didn't kill anybody.

Please.

(clears throat)

Petty Officer Second Class
James Sweeney.

I-I never saw him before.

Well, you sent him a box.

I get a list
from the Navy every week.

I mean, you know, I try, but my
memory's not what it used to be.

Uh, look familiar to you?

Uh, looks like what I send,
yeah.

You make these?

Listen, can you just tell me

what's going on?
Yes or no?

Yeah,
they're my mother's recipe.

The ones sent to Petty Officer
Sweeney were laced with cyanide.

It's got your name on the
return address on the label.

It's got your cookies inside
and two photographs of you.

Nah, this is crazy.
I don't know

how poison could have gotten
into one of my...

How could poison get
in one of my boxes?

You tell me.

I have no idea!

How well do you know
your friends at the Legion Hall?

They're patriots,
every single one of them.

There's no way any of 'em could
have done something like this.

GIBBS:
Anyone who could have put
their cookies inside your box?

We all pack our own boxes.
They're all personalized.

I know about you, Sergeant.

I know
what you've been through.

But you got
to give me something.

This isn't right!

I have to get out of this room!

You can't keep me in this room!

I have to get out
of this room!

You hear me?

I have to get
out of this room!

What do you mean,
Ross seemed off?

Oh.

It was sad.

He seemed
really scared.

Do you think
he sent that package?

Not sure.

Sounds like
there's a "but" in there.

Well, I did some digging.

Ross has a
checkered past.

How so?

He had some
violent outbursts

after his rescue in Iran--

a bar fight in '85,
road rage in '87.

Fired from
several jobs.

Sounds familiar.

Well, when he came back,

they didn't have
the same sort of

psychiatric support system
they do now.

They barely knew what
PTSD was back then.

So you think
he may be unstable?

Uh, I-I don't know.

Uh, I-I'd like to

meet with him somewhere
where he feels safe.

Could get a better read.

All right, but do it quickly.

There's a hold on all
care packages to the military

till this gets
sorted out.

You got it.

(indistinct chatter)

BISHOP:
How long were you
and James together?

Uh... we had met
in high school, actually.

Um...

even back then, he said
he was gonna join the Navy,

and that we'd get married.

He have any enemies?

James? No.

He was a really good man.

We were actually gonna try
for our first child when he...

when he got back.

(dish shatters, woman yelps)
MAN: Whoa,
whoa, whoa.

I'm so sorry.
It's such a zoo in here.

I'm just gonna go
tell 'em to quiet down.

No, no, no,
it's-it's fine.

Did James ever mention the name
John Ross?

No. Why?

(dishes breaking,
indistinct arguing)

MAN:
Leave me alone.

WOMAN: You should be
ashamed of yourself.

MAN: I should
be ashamed?

WOMAN: Oh, now look
what you've done.

I'll pick it up.

Bob.

You guys the cops?

Uh, yep. NCIS.

Well, if you want my advice,
I'd look into her.

Why would we do that?

You see this place?

You think a petty officer's
salary paid for it?

No. James' parents,

my brother
and his wife,

they had money.

Get out of my house.

They died in a car crash
six years ago,

and they left everything
they had to their boys.

She never had any interest
at all in James

until they were dead.

Get the hell outta here,
Uncle Bob.

Calm down, Clyde. You don't
have to cover for her anymore,

your baby brother's dead.

Are you kidding me?

You disrespect a dead man
in his own home?

I'm not disrespecting him.

I'm disrespecting her.

Leave, you drunk.

Okay.
Time to go, Bob.

I might be drunk,
but I am not wrong.

Clyde, was it?

Yeah. I'm James' older brother.

Your uncle always
so friendly?

Uncle Bob is just angry

that he didn't get any money
when my parents died.

You know, Delilah's cousin
had a thing with the IRS.

It's actually a
pretty funny story.

Was it, uh, terrible
and he lost a ton of money

after months of paperwork?

Yeah, I guess it's not
that funny of a story.

Yeah.

Oh, we're closed.

Oh, we're federal agents.

McGEE:
Do you know this man?

John? Yeah. He comes
in here every day

to send out
those packages of his.

You ever talk to him?

Yeah. (chuckles)

What does that mean?

Well, if I'm being
completely honest,

I think he's got a bit
of a crush on me.
TORRES: Really.

And why do you say that?

He thinks I don't notice,
but John always lets people

budge him in line until
my station's free.

Well, we're gonna need the
internal tracking information

for a package he mailed out.

Here, I have
a scan code for that.

Okay.

I-Is he in some sort of trouble?

What do you and
John talk about?

Stuff. Uh, mainly,
my husband and kids.

He'll bring in leftover cookies
from his care packages for them.

I'd hold off on eating
the last batch.

Uh, let's see.

Huh.

Wh-what does that mean?

The scan code you gave me

is for a package
that got picked up

by a mailman at a blue dropbox
not far from here.

That unusual?

Yeah, actually.

DALE:
John Ross?

Yeah, I-I know him.

How?
DALE: Guy's basically

Santa Claus for sailors.

I mean, ev-everyone
knows who he is.

Did Petty Officer Sweeney
ever mention that he talked

to Ross before he received
the care package?

I don't think so.

I heard a rumor we aren't gonna
be getting boxes anymore.

We're working on it.

It's just that morale's
been pretty low

ever since Sweeney died.

We could all use a little
something from home.

Thank you, Petty Officer Dale.
We'll be in touch.

McGee, got something?

Care package sent
to Sweeney was dropped

in a blue mailbox
less than a mile

from John Ross's house
in Franconia.

But?
But the woman
at the post office

says that John Ross always

dropped off the packages
in person.

Box was full of poison.

Ross didn't want to be seen
with it.

Yeah, I checked Ross's timeline.

Mailman picked up the package

on February 16,

while Ross was in Chicago
at a Marine Corps reunion.

Then he couldn't
have sent the package.

Well, someone sure wanted
it to look like he did.

Customer service.

FEMALE VOICE: Press seven to....
No, I don't want to press seven

to leave a voice mail.

I want to talk to a human being.

FEMALE VOICE: Press one for...
Human being.

Hey. Where are we?

Street surveillance
on the mailbox?

No luck. Small town.

No cameras nearby.

McGEE: We're still
gathering a list

of veterans who helped pack
boxes at the Legion Hall.

And, so far, no connection
to the victim.

Gotta connect to somebody
somewhere.

Well... (sighs) There is,
just not to Sweeney.

About three months ago, a
podcast host named Whit Dexter

had John Ross on his show.
BISHOP: An unwitting Ross

assumed the interview was
about the care packages.

McGEE:
Dexter pushes insane theories
he knows are false in order

to gain listeners
and advertisers.

Yeah. I know who he is.

All right, I'm gonna
get straight to it.

There's a lot of people out
there who aren't buying

your little
dog-and-pony routine.

Uh, I'm not sure I understand...

DEXTER:
Ah, come on, John.

We all know that the U.S.
government is paying

for those boxes to be shipped

just to drum up support for the
failing U.S. Postal Service.

You know, I-I don't have to
prove a damn thing to you.

DEXTER: Well, I have several
sources who tell me

that your little
stint as a "POW"

was nothing more than a
paid vacation in Hawaii,

used a a false flag
operation to drum up tension

between the Middle East
and the U.S.

Silence, folks.
You hear that?

Looks like Dexter Nation
has struck a nerve.

You're gonna regret this.

(scoffs) I'm
gonna expose you

for who you really are.

Is there a connection
to the victim?

After Ross leaves, Dexter lays
out Ross's history

of violence and aggression.

He promised his
listeners something big

would soon be revealed

to prove that Ross
is a government thug.

What? A box of poisoned cookies?

ROSS:
Hey.

How do you
take your coffee?

Oh, I like my
battery acid black.

I'll handle my own sugar,
though.

Blackjack. I'm on it.

(clock chimes quietly)

(dog barks in distance)

(train rattles past)

So, uh...

Why'd you ask
about Whit Dexter?

He killed that sailor,
didn't he?

I never said that.

Well, you wouldn't
have mentioned it

if it wasn't
a possibility.

You think he'd do it?

He definitely hates
our military.

Came after me personally, too.

Listen, there is nothing
that man could say to you

that would be worse than living
in a cage for five years.

Yeah, you're right.

It's not my favorite subject.

Mmm.

Uh, what is all
this, anyway?

I'm scanning all my old
genealogy stuff

so I don't lose it.
Oh.

Looks like you've
found an awful lot.

You know, I had a,
uh, great-great-grandfather--

I-I don't know
how many greats--

but he was named
after George Washington

at the request of
George Washington himself.

That is impressive.

My family's been fighting
for this country

since it was founded.

Where'd you serve?

Who said I served?

You called your coffee
"battery acid," so...
Ah. (laughs)

Dead giveaway, huh?

Afghanistan.

Oh. That's a, that's a tough
part of the world for a woman.

Tough part for anybody.

This helps me.

You know, knowing how hard

these people worked to have
the lives they had.

And paved the way
for the rest of us.

Exactly.

DEXTER:
And another thing,

Dexter Nation.

Has anyone else out there
noticed

that when you call the IRS

nobody answers the phone?

Only letters.

No real people.
Well, I have

definitive proof that the IRS

is nothing but a scam
run by computers.

More on this after a brief word
from our sponsors.

Thank you very much.

That was interesting.

ASSISTANT:
Three minutes,
Mr. Dexter.

TORRES:
What?

DEXTER:
Come around.
There's a door over here.

(whispering):
Ricky.

You don't just let
people into the studio.

You don't know who
those guys are.

They could have
a car bomb on them.

Gentlemen, you got three
minutes before I'm back

from commercial.

My secretary says
you're with CSI?

NCIS.

Whatever. What do you want?

We're here to ask you
a couple of questions.

Is this guy for real? Seriously?

Of course you're here to ask me
a couple of questions.

You guys are cops;
you came down here to see me.

Out with it.

James Sweeney.

What, is he a moron, too?

You guys both morons?

What the hell is th-- Is this
some sort of a prank show?

Come on. You guys
are wasting my time.

Do you know who
James Sweeney is?

No. Why?

He was murdered.

Oh. Sucks for him.

Yo. Enough with the attitude.

Have a little bit of respect,
mate.

(mimics Reeves' accent):
A little bit of respect, mate,

for someone I don't even know?

For someone who served
his country.

Oh, he was military?

Yeah.

Well, at least he knew
what he signed up for.

Look, fellas,
I don't know him.

Never seen him, never
heard of him, okay?

So you ladies have any more
questions, please,

feel free to contact
my attorneys.

Until then, I got a show to run.

Thank you.

Ricky, you can show
these guys out.

RICKY:
Yes, sir.

You're sure James
never mentioned

anyone he was
concerned about,

no fights or feuds?

Not that I can remember.

I'm sorry. It was so hard
when he was gone, I just...

It was easier for me if I stayed
focused on things back home.

You mean things like the house?

Hear it's a nice house.

We were very lucky.

What'd you say you do, again?

You know all of the answers
to all these questions already.

So I'm a suspect now?

You're taking tips
from a drunk uncle?

According to the
real estate agent,

you and James
bought your house

for almost $650,000
last year.

Do either of you have any idea

what it's like
to lose someone you love?

Bank records indicate
James' father

only left him $150,000.

It's called a mortgage.

Uncle seemed to think the
inheritance was pretty sizable.

Maybe there was some more money,

something James hid away?

$150,000 is sizable

when you're a drunk
or a 17-year-old.

You know what, I thought
you guys wanted my help.

I'm done here.

(sighs)

Log on to ZNN.

Okay. What happened?

It's Dexter.
He's claiming you harassed him.

Uh, that's not good.

No, it's not.
This is nonsense.

JIMMY: It's all over
the Internet. He posted on all

of his social
media pages.
Yeah, well,

he's been known
to do that.

So, a government organization
known as NCIS

just paid me a visit.

These scumbags
are trying to frame me

for the murder
of a sailor named James Sweeney.

Now, I've learned
that this sailor

was about to go on record,

exposing
our old friend John Ross.

But now that sailor's dead.
How did he die?

From poisoned cookies in
care packages sent by John Ross.

We never said a word to him
about Ross.

Or anything about poison.

Dexter shouldn't know
how Sweeney died.

Unless he had something
to do with it.

*

(grunts) Go tell the valet
to grab the car.

You got it.
Make it quick.

You son of a bitch.

Wh... Easy, buddy, easy!
I ought to kill you,
you know that?

Take a walk!
Take it easy there, pal!

Whoa!
Who the hell
do you think you are?!

You're making
a big mistake, buddy!

John. John!
Oh, yeah. Hey!
Big mistake!

What the hell
do you think you're doing?

Everybody knows that guy
deserves a punch in the face!

GIBBS: I know it!
All right, you see this,
folks? See this?

NCIS chumming it up
with John Ross,

the real murderer.
Yeah, this thug

attacks me.

Typical tyrannical government.
Andhave to...

Wh... Hey. Whoa,
I'm the victim here.

Yeah.

You got something to say?
Come on,

let's make a statement.
All right.

GIBBS:
Go make a statement.

I'll make a statement.

Make a few statements!

Come on.

DEXTER: People are broke,
they're upset,

and that is why the IRS
is just a big Ponzi scheme

and people like you are suckers.

How did you know
about the poison?

(chuckles)
You got any real questions?

Gary Cooper over there
got anything to say?

You know what? Been
a real pleasure, Whit.

Ah. And how may I
enlighten you today, sir?

Uh, big pharmaceuticals?

Flat Earth theory?

Got to be exhausting--

keeping your lies straight,
pretending you care.

(chuckles)
I could say the same to you.

How do you even look
in the mirror in the morning?

Oh, usually with my eyes.

What's Layla think about this?

Don't talk about my daughter.
Do you ever think

what school
must be like for her?

She's got a dad
like you.

Hell of a burden
to carry around.

Don't talk about her, pal.

A man's family is a line
you do not cross.

Well, you've crossed
that plenty.

What's life gonna be for her

when she hears
her father is a murderer?

(chuckles): Oh. Oh, you-you
actually think I killed him.

I just assumed
I was in here

'cause you didn't
like what I say.

Listen, I'm an
entertainer.

Most of what I
say isn't true.

This whole Ross thing,
it's all over the Internet.

But I didn't put it there.

You said on air
you were gonna expose him.

Yeah, I was gonna
make something up.

You released that information
yourself,

and you knew your listeners
were gonna jump all over Ross.

(chuckles): Oh, no, no, no, no.
See, that's the beautiful thing

about getting into the minds
of these people.

They're ravenous.

I mean, thousands of them
posted it

long before I ever knew
about it.

I just have the biggest voice.

(knocking at door, door opens)

Ah, Dr. Mallard.
Thank you for coming.

Always a pleasure, Jacqueline.

And one can struggle
with tax forms

for only so long.

How may I be of assistance?

I was hoping that you could
help me with a bit of profiling.

Well, I'm always up
to a challenge.

Okay. The subject is

retired armed forces

with past trauma
they refuse to talk about,

and their whole life is

still wrapped up
in the military.

Unable to move on?

Unwilling, at least.

History of aggression?

Sporadic.

Intelligence?

High.

Has the subject
ever sought counseling before?

No.

What about
the family?

None.

Huh. And...

well, your concern is what?

What happens if the subject

continues to internalize
what happened?

Almost certainly,

they'd be on the road
to disaster.

Yeah. That's what I thought.

Well, you... you just have
to use all your tricks

to get him to open up.

Thank you, Dr. Mallard.

Hey, help yourself.

Ah.

May I have one of each?

Absolutely.

Thank you.

(door opens)

Dexter confess yet?

Not quite.

You know, everyone
in this country

is done following
the old establishment.

And I'm just providing
them with something new

to follow.
Whoa, whoa, where's he going?

He's letting Dexter stew.

Gibbs has him
right where he wants him.
Oh, good.

'Cause I want to be here
when he breaks him.
Me, too.

Six years ago, an up-and-coming

shock jock accused me of
running a money laundering ring

out of the Navy Yard.

Dexter reminds you of him?

Dexter is him.

His claims about me
were so outrageous

they never caught
any mainstream attention.

But over the years,

he's learned.

You know, you can't
just keep me in here

'cause you don't
like what I say!

I got First Amendment
rights, you know.

Somebody give me something.

Uh, Dexter told his
lawyer we were free

to go through
his cell phone.

Yeah, he's
a cheeky little bugger.

What'd you find?
McGEE: Well, besides

the videos
he posted online,

I can't find
anything incriminating

in any of his texts,

call logs, or search history.

It's starting to look
like there isn't anything.

REEVES: Yeah. He wasn't lying
when he said the information

about John Ross
and the poison cookies
was all over the Internet

before he reported it.
We've been trying to find

the original
source, but...

There are no "buts," Bishop.

Boss, we've been looking,

but it's like searching
for a needle in a haystack.

More like hay mountain.

BISHOP: We'd need
to comb through

the entire
Internet to find

the first post
describing the murder

that all the others
piggybacked on.

There's a dead sailor.

There's a vet being framed.

God. Find the source.

Listen, I know I shouldn't
have gone after that idiot.

(sighs) Hey, I don't...
I don't blame you.

I just want to
talk about why.

Why you did it.

'Cause some nutbag's out there
telling everybody

that I killed a sailor.

John, you have a history
of aggression.

I am not interested in talking
about my feelings.

I see a lot of anger hiding
behind that happy face of yours.

Bottling up what
happened to you

is dangerous. You get that?

And how would you know?

'Cause it happened to me,
too, okay?

Nine months.

They wanted Army intel.

I never said a word.

Screamed a bit.

I'm-I'm so sorry.

I don't know if you had
this, but it was like...

they kept moving me around.

So I-I didn't know
how long I'd been there

or where I was, um...

My problem isn't what happened
to me over there.

I've... come to terms with that.

It's the life they took away
from me over here.

What-what do you mean by that?

I had a girlfriend
when I got sent to Iran.

(sighs)
She was more than a girlfriend.

She was...

she was really special.

What was her name?

Clara.

A few weeks into the mission,
before we left base,

I got a letter from her

saying she was pregnant
with our child.

And, uh...

I was thrilled.

My life was all lined up.

And I was gonna ask her
to marry me

the second I set foot
back on American soil.

But then...

everything changed.

You know,
they held me for five years.

And after two rescue attempts
went south

and my captors
cut off all communications...

(sniffles) ...uh,
everybody thought I was dead.

So she moved on.

When I got back,
she had a new husband,

and my daughter had a father

that she believed to be her own.

I made her mother promise
to never tell her.

I-I just...
I was in no shape to be a dad.

They-they had to move on.

I was a...

I was a broken man
for quite a while.

(sniffles)

You know, in a lot of ways,
I still am.

I th... I thought
I was better at hiding it.

Where's Clara now?

She and her husband
both passed on.

She had a heart attack.

I'm sorry.

And your daughter?

Oh, she still doesn't know
anything about me.

Well, maybe she should.

No. Just too much time
has passed.

You have this mountain
of family history to share.

Don't you think she'd want that?

Family is who's there
when you need 'em the most.

And I was never there for her.

She's got her own
family history now.

She'd reject me

if I brought all this stuff
to her and dumped it in her lap.

She'd probably hate me, even,
so... it's too late.

I am not built for
all-nighters anymore.

REEVES:
I forget.

Can anybody beat
3:23 p.m.?

Well, the earliest post I can
find describing the murder

Mm, I got 2:44 on Twitter.

REEVES:
I can't keep them straight.

Don't worry. I'm keeping
a running list of all the posts.

I got it!
Thank God!

Well, where was it?
Oh, it was in an e-mail
account I forgot I had.

What? Well,
what are you talking about?

My missing LES, baby.

Pay period
eleven, 2013.

I've been looking
for it all night.

Wait.

So... you've been in there
working on your taxes?

Yes.
REEVES:
And you haven't

done anything
the entire time?

I can multitask.
McGEE:
I no longer

feel bad the IRS wants
to take all your money.

Tim...
Hold on.

Oh, Abby to the rescue?

ABBY:
That's what
I'm talking about.

BISHOP:
Original post?

ABBY:
This was posted

to a Web forum
by the user name

"TheJuggalution"
at 2:04 p.m.

BISHOP:
At least a dozen people

copied the information
onto Twitter,

Facebook
and multiple other sites.

From there, it
spread like wildfire.

Wait. Who wrote the first thing?

Well, it was a dummy account.
Like most Web handles,

it didn't connect to any name,
address or bank account.

But we were able to trace
the subnet of the IP address.

I have no idea what that means.

Oh, it means we know
where the post was sent from.

Where?
You're not gonna
believe this, but

it came from John Ross's
Legion Hall.
Could it be Ross?

No. Sloane was with Ross
at his house in Franconia

yesterday afternoon
when the post was uploaded.
BISHOP: We contacted

the Legion Hall, and the vet
working at the office said

that they have surveillance
on all of their computers.

Torres and Reeves are
on their way there now.

(knock at door)

Jack?

(door closes)

I told him what happened to me.

I know that's a very difficult
thing for you to talk about.

(sniffles)

He has a daughter that
doesn't even know he exists.

Does he know where she is?
He wouldn't say.

He's fighting the demons
that came after his escape,

not the experience itself, so...

What about that scares you?

Seeing what burying
his feelings

has done to John.
He's, uh...

He's angry.

He's lonely.

You're not like John Ross.

Oh, come on, Leon.

Bar fight in Texas.

Road rage in Encinitas.

I was ordered six months of
anger management in San Diego.

That's done me a lot
of good, hasn't it?
That was a long time ago.

Oh, yeah, I've gotten
really good at looking pretty

and pretending to be
put together all the time, huh?

Hey, you...

Takes a long time to get past
what happened to you.

This is not about getting
hooked up to a car battery!

These are not emotions
I can just get over.

This is not a problem
that can be solved!

(voice breaking):
I should have saved them.

You didn't kill them.

(crying):
But I let them die, right?

I did. I did.
No.

No, you...
No.
I let them...

(crying)
No.

Don't do that.
It's okay.

TOM:
Yeah, we had some issues
in the past.

Some of our members were abusing
their computer privileges,

and that's when we installed

the surveillance cameras.

We need to see
yesterday afternoon.

Around 2:04 p.m.

You know, I could have told
you boys from day one

that you was barking up
the wrong tree with John.

Yup.

There you go.
2:04 p.m.

That's Petty Officer
Sweeney's brother.

Clyde.

Hey, I know this guy.

He came in to pack some boxes.

It was about a month ago.

Was John here?

Man, John's always here.

Did either of you talk
to this man?

Yeah, a little bit.

You know, I just remembered.

He took a few boxes with him

that he wanted
to pack at home.

That must be
his girlfriend.

That's his brother's wife.

Really?
(laughs)

Because they look like they're
getting along pretty well to me.

Oh, my!

Okay.

(doorbell rings)

You expecting someone?

No.

(doorbell rings)

Hi, Agent Gibbs.
Agent, uh...

Bishop. We're here
to talk.

Right now's not really
the best time.

We're looking for Clyde.

We went to his apartment,
he wasn't home.

And you came here?

Well, yeah. I mean, we figured

since you two are
sleeping together and all.

Cameras at the
Legion Hall.

Please.

Clyde?
Yeah.

NCIS is here.

Clyde?

Clyde, put the
weapon down.

Don't move.

Drop the weapon!

McGEE:
NCIS! Stop!

Hey!
(grunts)

(grunting)

Going somewhere?
(groans)

(panting)

McGEE:
How'd it go?

Had nothing to do with
James Sweeney's inheritance.

GIBBS:
Wife wanted out

of the marriage for a while.

She paired up with the brother
once the husband was deployed.

They decided to kill James

and impress Clyde's hero,
Whit Dexter,

at the same time
by framing Ross.

Two birds, one care package.

BISHOP:
Emma and Clyde thought

they could sway public opinion
with their posts.

(Torres laughing)

(singing in Spanish)

Is that your
"caught the bad guy" dance?

No, that's my
"IRS messed up,

and now they owe
me money" dance.
Oh, they owe you?

TORRES: Yeah. The only thing
that would make this day better

is if we somehow

got to arrest Whit Dexter.

BISHOP: Well, you get
the next best thing.

He's already lost
multiple sponsors.

No.
Yeah, apparently,
influencing a murder

is where they finally
draw the line.
Ooh.

Bazinga!
(snorts)

Hey.

You all right, Jack?

Yeah.

I'm, uh... perfect.

So, um,

John is still living a life

where he can't even talk
to his own daughter.

He says he doesn't even know
where to find her.

You don't believe him.

I think he knows
exactly where she is.

How old do you think she'd be?

ROSS:
I am so nervous.

This could change
her whole life.

What if I screw everything up?

Hey, I think she'll be
glad to know the truth.

I just want her to know
how much I loved her mother.

And I'm ready
to tell her it's okay

if she doesn't want
anything to do with me.

Stop it!

You're a good man.

She'll see that.

It's gonna be a big step
for both of you.

(sighs)

You know, Jack,

you're the first person

I could ever talk to
about what happened to me.

I don't, uh...

I don't talk about my
experience much, either, John.

It was hard, but...

it definitely helped
knowing that you understand.

Good. I'm glad to hear it.

(clears throat)

(choked up): Maybe I was able
to help you, too.

SLOANE:
Hey, here she comes.

(sighs)

Okay, let's do this.

You got this.
Hey, Molly.

I'm your dad.
(laughs)

(both laughing)

Thank you, Jack.

Thank you, John.

(exhales)

(car door closes)

*

Captioning sponsored by
CBS