NCIS (2003–…): Season 17, Episode 13 - Sound Off - full transcript

Bravo-Delta-Four UAV test.

In flight. Video up.
Radio comm channels clear.

Commencing field exercise
Bravo-Delta-Four.

Copy that.
Bravo-Delta-Four is a go.

Missile activated.

Okay, people. Hold steady.

And remember this moment,
because the maiden test run

of a beast like this
combat UAV missile...

...is something
to tell the grandkids.

Approaching target.
80 meters and closing.

Begin weapons engagement.

70.

60...

Staff Sergeant Murphy
is clear to fire.

Commence firing.

50... 40...

All systems ready.

Target locking sequence
initiated.

30 meters out.

Sir? Sir.

Come here.

We have a problem.

Murphy, stand down.

Target locked.

Murphy, hold!

Murphy, hold your fire!

Stand down!

Missile away.

Target strike confirmed.

What did you do?

Ah, that fleeting moment

when everything
is right and good.

The coffee is half full and
the phone hasn't rung yet.

No crime, no body.

Not even a hint of trouble.

Okay.

Can I just vent?

Oh, it was nice while it lasted.

What's wrong, Jimmy?

Dr. Mallard retired.

You're just realizing this now?

And ever since he became
the official NCIS historian,

I have been doing
the work of two people.

Yeah. And you do it all
with a smile on your face.

Oh, that? Yeah, yeah.
I've been faking that

for the last four months.

Yeah, I have such a backlog
of work to catch up on,

I didn't even
go home last night.

You guys, I got 14
minutes of sleep.

On an autopsy table.

I hope there wasn't
a body on it.

Jimmy, you think
maybe it's time

you get your, uh, own assistant?

Yes. I m I mean,
I'm-I'm trying to.

I-I interviewed people
last week,

but, uh, it's impossible to tell

whether or not someone's
gonna measure up

just by talking to them.

Dr. Mallard instilled
in me a very high

set of standards, and these,
t-this is just a-a mess

of résumés.

They're just...

They're just
talking heads.

Did I mention I got 14 minutes
of sleep last night?

Twice.

Look, Jimmy, maybe you should
just have the applicants come in

and work with you
on a trial basis.

Yeah, you know, you can
tell a lot about a person

when you see them
in action.

It's like
my abuela said,

"You never know
the measure of a man

until he's covered in blood."

Doesn't abuela mean
"grandmother"?

She was a butcher.

Grab your gear.

Got a dead body in Quantico.

Sort of.

Sort of a body?

Go. Gear. Let's go.

I have logged seven
pieces of human remains so far.

From what I can tell, they all
came from the same person.

Whoever that might be.

All right.
I got a hit over here.

Victim is Daniel Backer.

Retired gunnery sergeant.

Rules out accident.

How do we know that?

A gunny
would've known better

than to just walk into an active
weapon range like that.

Suicide, Jimmy?

I don't think so.

Uh, the force of the explosion

clearly dismembered the body.

But the hypoxic nature
of this tissue suggests

that there was no blood flow at
the time of the missile strike.

Which means...

Backer was already dead
when the missile hit.

For how long?

Dead how? Palmer!

Oh, uh, just
I'm-I'm gonna have to get him

all of him back to autopsy.

U-Uh, the post-mortem
lividity here suggests

that the body was also moved
after he died.

Which means...

Someone put him here.

So, I take it by your lack
of uniform, you're a civilian?

That's right.
I-I work for a company

called LanWar Defense Systems.

And that's their drone?

LanWar makes
the weapons,

the Marine Warfighting Lab
tests them.

It's pretty small
for a combat drone.

And extremely lightweight.
It's only six pounds,

but its missiles
pack a hell of a punch.

How much punch?

Imagine if you could

stuff a Category 5 tornado

into something the size
of a water bottle.

Whoever was down there
didn't stand a chance.

All right, thanks.

So the victim was I.D.'d
as Daniel Backer.

You knew him?

Yeah. He's, um,
a retired gunnery sergeant.

He-he works for us at LanWar.

He helps us plan the demos that
we run for the Warfighting Lab.

So you all knew him?

Including the Marine who
piloted the drone today?

Staff Sergeant
Diana Murphy. Yes.

You said she fired her missile

despite your repeated orders
to stand down.

Well, I-I don't know
what she was thinking.

It's ironic that
it was Backer down there.

Why would you say that?

Well, they used to date.

Yeah, we're gonna
need to talk to her.

Of course.

Look, I-I'm sure
she was just so focused,

she didn't hear the order.

I mean, I know
how that sounds, but...

I left her in the
pilots' ready room.

She was pretty distraught.

She was just...

Where did she go?

Staff Sergeant Diana Murphy,
30 years old,

served in the Marine Corps
for the last nine.

She started out flying drone
missions in Afghanistan

but now specializes in piloting
UAVs for the Warfighting Lab.

Why is she running?

Well, maybe because she killed
her ex-boyfriend,

and blew up the evidence?

BOLO's out.
Quantico MPs have been alerted.

We'll find her.

Service record.

Competent, capable. Nothing
murdery at all, actually.

Wait, did I mention that
she blew up her ex-boyfriend?

Also known as retired
Gunnery Sergeant Daniel Backer.

37, decorated,
well-liked.

Described as
a "total Boy Scout."

After Backer left the Marines,
uh, LanWar offered him a job.

Which means he spent a lot of
time in the Warfighting Lab.

We think that's
where he met Murphy.

You get a cause of death yet?

Uh, not yet.
No, Jimmy's taking longer

than usual for some reason.

McGee, take Torres to LanWar.

See what else you can
find out about Backer.

On it.

Bishop.

Hmm?

Find Murphy.

On it.

As your first test, we will
start by reassembling the body.

Now, this is the
phalanges mediae.

Uh...

Based on the curvature
of this facet,

I believe, of the left foot.

Would you please turn that off?

This work does require
a great deal of concentration.

Uh, seriously. How do you do
anything with these gloves on?

They're actually quite handy,
for work.

Uh, would you mind

getting me the
left patella?

Pass.

I have a thing about kneecaps.

Okay. Right.
I'll get the patella.

You orient the left
quadriceps femoris.

His left.

Not yours.

Okay, there we go.
Yeah, now, just-just

rotate it in until it fits...

Look...

Mm, gonna leave now.

That's a great idea.

Sorry about that, Gunny.

That young lady had
a stellar résumé

and absolutely no
place in the SAZ.

That's the Sacred
Autopsy Zone.

You didn't used to think of me
like that, did you?

Cause of death.

Right. As we suspected,

Backer's C.O.D. was
not a drone strike,

but rather a gunshot wound,

confirming this was,
in fact, a murder.

Entry was right here.
He was shot at point-blank range

with what I can only assume
was a nine-millimeter bullet,

which we cannot find.

Lost in the blast.

Yeah.

Any idea where
he was killed?

I couldn't even begin
to tell you. Gibbs,

any piece of evidence that
could've given me a clue was...

Lost in the blast.

Who has a thing with kneecaps?

I'm sorry.
It was a shock to us all.

You and Backer close?

We hadn't worked together long,

but he was one of those guys
you couldn't help but like.

You notice anything
off with him lately?

No. His work was
always top-notch.

I mean, who better to show the
military how to use our weapons

than a decorated Marine?

What the hell was he doing
on a live firing range?

He knew better.

Actually, it wasn't your drone
that killed him.

He was shot.

What? How?

That's what we're
here to investigate.

Were you aware
of the relationship he had

with Staff Sergeant Murphy?

Not really.

What I do know is they seemed
more off than on.

What does that have
to do with anything?

Their last breakup,
that seem amicable to you?

Looks like you have
something to say.

A couple of days ago,
Danny and Diana

got into a fight in the lab.

And?

And I thought it was
gonna come to blows.

I almost called the MPs.

What was it about?

I don't know.

You know where Diana is
right now?

Look, she's a tough lady,
but I've never seen anything

that would make
me think that...

Everybody has off days.
Everybody has fights, right?

Mm.

That doesn't make her a killer.

Right, totally,
so back to my question.

Do you know where she is now?

I do.

MPs found her.

Where?

So, she ran back

to her ex-boyfriend's place

after she blew up his body?

I'm sure you got some kind

of psychological theory.

If she's our killer,
maybe that's

where Backer was
originally murdered.

Some killers like to return
to the scene of the crime

to revel in what they've done.

Not much revelry going on
in there.

One of your agents said it was

Danny out there in that
weapons field is that true?

Is he dead?

It's true.

But maybe you already knew that.

Staff Sergeant
Murphy,

why did you leave
the crime scene?

W-What?

Why'd you run?

I wasn't thinking straight.

I'd just killed someone
with a missile.

No, you didn't.

Danny was already dead by
the time your missile hit him.

He was shot.

But I'm thinking
you already

knew that, too,
didn't you?

Diana?

What, what is it?

You didn't answer my question.

Diana?

Hey!

Why did you run back to
Backer's apartment

after the missile strike?

For help he's the only

person that I trust.

Or...

you and he got into a bad fight.

You shot him.

And you tried
to cover it up

by dumping his body

in a weapons range that you knew
was scheduled to be hit.

When his body
was discovered,

you raced back to
his apartment to

cover any evidence
that was left behind.

No.

You know, there is something
off about her responses,

but I can't quite
put my finger on it.

Ingram ordered you
to stand down,

so why did you fire
that missile?

I didn't know anyone
was out there.

You were ordered to hold
your fire three times.

Why'd you disobey the order?

W-What?

Why did you disobey the order?

I didn't kill Danny.

I loved him.

Semper fi, Marine!

What'd I miss?

Uh, just-just Gibbs
being Gibbs.

Semper fi.

Ooh-rah!

She can't hear. She's deaf!

Wait, can you still be
a Marine if you're deaf?

No. No, you can't.

All right, that concludes
the hearing test.

You can, uh, take off
the headphones now.

Ian?

Would you get me
the test results, please?

Hey, I was told this job

was for an
assistant M.E.

As in... dead bodies.

My apologies for being alive.

Yes, Ian, once in
a while, we are

called upon to help
in other medical areas.

So, would you, please?

This is a waste of time.

Danny's killer
is out there still.

Or in here.

Wait... "killer"?

Does that mean you have
some dead bodies? Where?

How bad is it?

Still waiting

on the test results.
Ian, would you...?

Yeah, I'm sorry.

I never made a good gopher.

Like I said before,

cutting up dead bodies is...

more my jam.

You know,
the sound of a bone saw

early in the morning,
first thing

in a nice sterile
room like this...

Okay. Yeah.

I think I have all
the information I need.

Uh, you go have a good day.

I won't be in touch.

I am so sorry about that.

How bad is it?

According to this test,

you have lost almost
100% of your hearing.

In both ears.

But you already knew that.

I read that it
can get better.

Unfortunately, not with
this type of hearing loss.

Though I see you've gotten
quite good at reading lips.

She had to.

If she was gonna hide it
from her superiors.

Or her ex-boyfriend
you know, the one she blew up.

Maybe he found out.

He was gonna rat her
out to her C.O. and...

she had to take him out.

Or maybe he's the one that

caused her hearing loss
in the first place.

Making his murder
an act of revenge.

I can read your lips
in the reflection.

Okay, fine.

Y-Your file here
says that you and Backer

were involved
in some sort of accident

a few months ago?

Does it?

Some kind of a weapons test
that went sideways.

I don't want to talk about it.

Look...

I get it, I do.

But the file, it's quite vague.

If you really are
innocent, just...

And she's completely
ignoring me on purpose now.

Diana?

Did the accident cause you
to lose your hearing?

The accident involved a
top secret weapons test,

so the after-action report
had been heavily redacted.

But we could read enough to know
that Backer was involved.

Involved how?

Looks like he was demoing
some kind of new weapon.

Diana didn't report
any serious injuries,

but according to Jimmy,
the timing works out.

Which, yes, makes Backer

look responsible
for her hearing loss.

And ending her military career.

Hell of a motive.

Problem is...

no opportunity.

We spoke to Diana's

co-workers at the lab.

They said that she was at work

till 1:00 in the morning
the night Danny was killed.

And according to our latest
time of death, that gives her

an airtight alibi.

Which makes her not our killer.

Does not make her innocent.

She's still hiding something.

Find out what.

Oh.

Why am I here?

You know I didn't kill Danny.

Why aren't you out there
looking for the person who did?

Oh, we are.

Don't you worry
about that, okay?

But I want to hear more
about your accident.

Why?

Danny wanted to show me
a new weapon

he was about to demo
for the lab.

What-what was it exactly?

A long-range rifle that uses
sound instead of bullets.

It disables the enemy

by heating up the cells
in their body.

Wow.

Never had anything like that
when I was in the Army.

Danny said it'd be
a game changer.

He said that we could
use it to fight wars

without killing anyone.

During the demo,
Danny activated the weapon

before I had
my protective earmuffs on.

Right away, I knew it was bad.

That must have been terrifying.

He wanted to take me
to the infirmary, but...

I was afraid of anyone
finding out.

I can't imagine the stress
that put on the both of you.

At first, Danny helped me
hide it at work.

He helped me to learn
how to read lips.

I got good fast.

But when the ringing
turned to silence,

he wanted me to tell my C.O.

And we both knew
what that meant.

You'd be out of the Corps.

You're required to report
that hearing test, aren't you?

Yes. Yes, I am.

Being a Marine is the only thing
that I've ever wanted.

My father...

He was a Marine, too?

Yeah.

He was so proud of it.

Do you know what it meant
for him to see his only child

a daughter
become one?

I don't know how
to be anything else.

You-you do.

You know how to be a friend

to Danny.

I need you to think.

Is there anyone who might've
had a grudge against him?

No.

Everyone loved him.

His friends, his co-workers.

Family?

Actually, there is someone.

He had a stepbrother.

I don't think they got along.

You got a name?

So, which one
of these guys looks

like a wicked
stepbrother to you?

She said the dude's
name was Ron, right?

Yeah, Ronald Kepczak.

Then that dude?

Yeah, let's find out.

Well, there he is.

Ronald Kepczak?

Who's asking?

Special Agents Torres and McGee.

Are you related
to Daniel Backer?

Only 'cause my mom married
that son of a bitch's dad.

So, I'm guessing
you are not close?

No, he had already enlisted by
the time my mom and I moved in.

And?

And what?

What makes him a son of a bitch?

Well, when my
stepdad died,

he left the freakin' house
to Danny.

That house should've been mine.

Danny barely even
freakin' lived in it.

That's a,
that's a tough break.

Yeah, I mean, he was cool enough
about everything at first.

He used to let me record there.

Spent a ton of money building
a soundproof recording studio

in a back room, and then
one day out of the blue,

he just changes his mind.

He tell you why?

No, some BS reason.

It was obvious he
was lying, though.

My guess is he was
up to something.

Something he didn't want
anyone else to know about.

He even changed the locks on me.

Doesn't really sound like the
guy we've been hearing about.

Exactly! See, everybody thinks
that he's this goody little

two-shoes, but what kind
of a royal jackass does that?

With him out of the way,
you can finally have the house.

"Out of the way"
what, did he finally move?

He was killed last night.

Danny's dead?

Ha!

Boy, did he have
that coming, huh?

Ah, looks like little old
Ronnie's luck's about to

change!

Oh, come on.

You don't think
that I did it, do you?

I don't know, did you?

Come on, man, you said
it happened last night?

There was, like, a hundred
people here watching me play.

A hundred, huh?

Everybody's a critic.

We're gonna need
the address to that house.

You guys stay for the show,
you got it.

No.

Believe me,
sir, I know

how cold all
this sounds.

I actually turned around
in the parking lot twice

before I came up here.

And yet, somehow
you still made it.

Because Backer's death
was associated

with one of LanWar's drones...

There's been an automatic
freeze on all contracts

pending the outcome
of our investigation.

And you're losing
a ton of money.

Please, don't make me
an ass here.

Danny was a friend.

But your bottom line
kept you from driving

out of the parking lot twice.

This is about more than
just lost revenue, Director.

There are men and women in
uniform all over the world

that need our weapons, sir.

I'll speak to SECNAV.

You need to inform her
that any more delays

are gonna negatively impact
our ability to deliver...

Thank you.

He was touring around
the parking lot

looking for a place to park.

I was getting coffee.

And since you didn't
get one for me,

I'm gonna assume that
this isn't a social call.

Leon, can we hold off
informing the Corps

about Murphy's hearing loss?

It's too late, Gibbs.
She's already been pulled

from active duty.

What's the matter?
I thought you said

she alibied out.

She did.

And she lied to us
and she fled the scene.

Now she's come up with
a lead for us to chase?

So you think she's still
hiding something.

I think we can't
afford her disappearing.

Well, your gut is quite
the force, Gibbs,

but you know that's
not enough to hold her.

We got to cut
her loose

and hope that your new lead
pans out.

Backer's whole life

boiled down to one laptop
and a busted up cell phone,

courtesy of a drone strike.

What's the next level up
from busted?

'Cause this looks like what
I want to do when spammers call.

But you can still get
something off of that, right?

What kind of magic
do you think I do down here?

I know. Okay. Sorry.

I didn't say it was impossible,

just, you know,
first things first.

You found something
on the laptop?

Uh, actually, no.

Your boy Backer had
zero social media presence

and the last thing on his laptop

was an article about
a cat that raised puppies.

Hmm. Well, I can't say
I'm surprised.

There wasn't much
in his apartment, either,

so we got nothing.

Actually, we have one thing.

I just don't know what it is.

What is it?

You know, sometimes I feel like
I'm talking to myself down here.

I mean, where did you get it?

Jimmy sent it up. I think
he found it among the remains.

He wants me
to tell him what it is.

All I can tell you
is that it appears to be made

out of a metal alloy
I've never seen before.

I asked the director
to put me in touch

with someone from LanWar.

Maybe they know what it is.

Bad news, Miss Hines.

No, don't say that.

I made some calls,
and I didn't get any answers.

They stonewalled you, too?

Don't they know
you're the director

of a federal agency?

Welcome to my world.

But you rest assured,
I'll keep pushing.

Oh, how is Mr. Palmer's
assistant search going?

Uh, he's had some duds.

Yeah, last I heard,

he was ready to give it up.

Speaking of which,

any chance I can
get an assistant?

Miss Hines, you're doing
such a great job,

doesn't seem like you need
any help at all to me.

You keep up the good work.

Mm.

Mm-hmm.

That was a smooth no.

Mm-hmm.

Why are you knocking?
Let's kick in the door, baby.

We don't have a warrant.

NCIS!

Ready?

Yeah.

Torres.

Whoever it is, they're gone.

It's got to be the killer.

We must have
interrupted 'em.

What do you think
they're looking for?

I don't know. Let's check
the rest of the house.

Yeah.

What do you think is in there?

Keypad's got four slots.

Ten numeric options,
I'd say 10,000...

I hate math.

Yeah, but you love
kicking down doors.

Yeah. Yeah, I really do.

Ronnie's music studio?

Well, maybe Backer
took over the place

just to start his own band.

Yeah, I don't think so.

It looks like our retired Marine

was doing more in here
than just jamming.

So this is the same
type of weapon

that caused Diana's
hearing loss?

Designed and built by LanWar.

What was Backer doing
with them in his house?

Funny you should ask.

I just had a good old time
at LanWar trying to get answers.

Well, what do you got?

The weapons at Backer's place?
Stolen.

Did LanWar report them missing?

Well, they didn't know
they were missing.

Apparently, Backer

fudged some type of,

uh, inventory report
or something.

You get a copy?

Nope.

They wouldn't give anything up
without a warrant.

Again, what was Backer doing

with stolen weapons
at his house?

Well, either he was
planning the mother

of all laser tag parties...

Or he was planning
on selling them.

I'm going
with the latter.

Prototype weapons like that

usually are worth a fortune.

Looks like the Boy Scout

wasn't very good about
being a Boy Scout.

You think he had
a buyer already?

Oh, if he did,

that buyer could be our killer.

And deals like this have
a way of going sideways.

So I reassembled Mr. Backer

to the best of my abilities.

You missed a few pieces.

Yeah, I noticed.

Which is why I went
back to the test field

for a secondary search.

Actually reminded me of
one of the first things

they teach you in
M.E. field training:

Always...

"Always go back

for pieces of flesh
you might've missed."

I beg your pardon.
Please excuse the intrusion.

I'm looking for
a Dr. Palmer?

That's me.

Christopher Crane,

applicant for
the assistant M.E. position.

Right, right. I'm just finishing
up a briefing now, so...

Say no more.

What a fascinating
constitution of remains.

Yeah.

Isn't it, though?

Shall I properly attire myself
so I can assist?

I'll try not
to be a bother.

By all means.

Yeah, yeah. R-Right
through there.

Well, isn't he enthusiastic?

Flesh you missed.

That's actually a section
of Backer's torso.

And lo and behold,

I found the bullet that killed
him, lodged in his vertebra.

The hell kind of bullet is that?

I don't know.

Kasie couldn't even
identify it.

Boss, I got something
you got to see.

Warrant came back for that
LanWar inventory report.

Would you like me
to take over categorizing

the recovered specimens,
Dr. Palmer?

Well, yes, please.

Do you prefer them ordered

by musculoskeletal
or organ system?

Why, thank you for asking.

Uh, just plain old alphabetical
is what we use around here.

You just start
at the top

and work your way down.

Boss, what is happening?
Does Ducky have

another younger brother
we don't know...

McGee. The inventory report.

We had originally assumed
that Backer

was the one
who fudged the report

that allowed him
to steal those weapons.

We were wrong.

Who?

You're not gonna like it.

You going somewhere?

It's official.

I've been medically discharged.

You recognize this?

It's an inventory report

from LanWar's
weapons storage unit.

Which you falsified to help
Backer steal from LanWar.

That is your signature,
isn't it?

No. It's not.

Damn it.
Danny must have forged it.

I-I didn't think
he would go that far.

Well, he went a lot further than
that. He committed a felony.

What was he doing
with the weapons?

Start talking.

Talk or we will handcuff you.

For what? I didn't help him.

That's what we fought about
that day at LanWar.

He wanted me to lie on the forms

and wouldn't
tell me why.

I refused.

You told him
you couldn't help him

and he signed your name anyway?

Agent Gibbs,

he stuck his neck out
for me for three months.

He is a good man.

He must have had
his reasons.

Good reasons.

Except...?

The night that we fought,

he told me that he was
leaving to go meet someone.

Who?

I don't know.

Where?

I don't know.

Danny said the less I knew,
the better.

He said it was
for my own safety.

You didn't think about
telling us this before?

I didn't know what to think.

The Danny that I knew served
with valor and honor.

More than anyone
I have ever met.

I will not jump to conclusions
that might sully his memory.

That's your job.

Oh, hey.

You got tired of asking people,
"So tell me about yourself"?

I was tired, yes,
but now I have one candidate

who has advanced to the
highly selective third round.

He's, uh, organizing
my microscope slides right now.

What are you guys up to here?

Well, Diana said that Backer
met up with a mystery person

right after they had a fight.

Pulled GPS from his phone,

which led us to this
convenience store off I-95.

Seven hours of footage,
still no Backer.

Man, if I had a nickel
for every shady deal

that went down outside
a convenience store...

Mama
would be...

Actually, I-I don't know
what Mama would be doing.

Is it really true
that the hearing-impaired

cannot serve in the military?

Yeah. The DoD has a standard
that you have to be able

to hear without the use
of any aid.

Yeah, but that's crazy.
I mean, look at Diana.

Are you telling me
there isn't some kind of, like,

non-combat role

that she could,
like, kick ass in?

Okay. Is this the Angry Kasie

you warned me about
that one time?

Waste makes me angry.

And stupid waste
makes me stupid angry.

Other countries allow the
hearing-impaired to serve.

I looked it up.

Uh, well,
this might make you happy.

Look.

I think
that's Backer.

There's the guest of honor.

That's one
of the sonic weapon cases.

We need to
I.D. the person

in the other car.

Uh, yup, but
for facial recognition,

kind of need to see his face,
but maybe...

Bingo. Got the plate.

"Zahir Najjar."

One Zahir Najjar
coming right up.

Hmm. Looks like
he's a professor

of electrical engineering
at M.I.T.

See? This is what happens when
you don't pay teachers enough.

They become arms dealers.

An arms dealer, huh?

That's an interesting theory.

This looks like
more than a theory.

You recognize it?

It's a sonic weapon.

A prototype.

What was it doing in
your living room?

We know you got it
from Daniel Backer.

Or was it bought?

What's the deal?

He steals the weapons,
sells them to you?

And going by
that cheap suit,

I'm guessing you're
just a middleman.

And going by this,

it looks like you two
had a falling out.

You didn't check your work,
Agents.

You wouldn't do well
in my class.

I didn't know Daniel was dead

until you broke down my door.

He and I did have a deal,
that part is true.

But not the one you think.

The man was a patriot.

He loved the military
more than life itself.

Then why the hell
steal from it?

Simple.

He was trying to protect it.

Update.

Come on, let's go.

Professor Najjar had a pretty
interesting story to tell.

Even if he told it in the
most demeaning way possible.

Torres is still in with him.

He said Backer just

couldn't get over the
accident with Diana.

She lost her hearing.

Yeah, and he's the one
that made it happen

when he misfired
his weapon.

Except Backer started to think
that maybe it wasn't a misfire.

And with more training,
he found a design flaw

in the weapon itself, and that
is what caused the accident.

He tell anyone?

Well, apparently,
he tried to,

but no one would listen.

The professor gave us
these. They're copies

of Backer's
internal LanWar reports.

Yeah, but they never saw
the light of day.

Backer didn't steal the weapons
to sell them.

He was trying
to blow the whistle.

He knew his official reports
were getting buried,

so he went outside
the chain of command.

Backer called up
an old professor

to conduct the tests.

But they needed the weapons
to test them.

Well, if he was wrong, he was
risking his entire career.

Not to mention jail time.

But Backer took the risk anyway.

It was the right thing to do.
Who buried his reports?

Gentlemen, I'm confused.

I was called in
to discuss SECNAV

lifting the freeze
on LanWar's contracts.

Yeah, we made that up.

But we thought you should know

that Staff Sergeant Murphy
was cleared of Backer's murder.

She had an alibi at the lab
for the night in question.

What?

So now you're back
to square one?

Every day this investigation
remains open,

we're losing money.

Yeah, no worries.

We got a new suspect.

Go ahead, have a seat.

Gentlemen,

I don't know where you're going
with this, but...

What is that?

Gee, Agent Torres,
does that look like

an internal LanWar
safety report to you?

Oh, yeah.
It sure does, Agent McGee.

It talks about

a design flaw

in one of LanWar's weapons.

What about this one here?

Hmm, that looks like
the memo that was

sent in its place.

You want to know what it says?

It has your signature on it.

It's an authorization

to release those weapons
for troops testing.

Weapons you knew were faulty.

And yet you gave them
the green light.

See, those of us in the
"bad guy busting" business

call that a whitewash.

And when Backer found out
and wanted to stop you...

You killed him.

You dumped his body
in a weapons range.

Figured that the evidence
would be blown up.

No, no.

You got it all wrong.

Really? Because it
feels so right to me.

So, so right.

What about you,
Agent Torres?

Okay, look, okay, it's true.

I buried Backer's report.

I authorized the release
of those weapons.

Come on, just let it out.
You'll feel so much better.

I couldn't risk losing
my military contracts. Not now.

I'm in the process of selling
my majority stake in LanWar.

I went through a bad divorce
and I needed the money.

But I didn't kill anybody.

And yet it's all feeling...

What was that again, McGee?

So, so right.

You said Staff Sergeant Murphy
couldn't be the killer

because she was at the lab
the night of the murder.

Your point?

I was there
that night, too.

Overseeing LanWar's operations.

So I guess you are back
to square one.

Maybe not.

Mr. Geary, who are you selling
your stake in LanWar to?

George Ingram.

Who is he?

He is the chief
weapons developer at LanWar.

Yeah, we met already.

He was supervising
the training exercise

the day Diana
torpedoed her boyfriend.

Is it me,
or does chief developer

seem a little below
his pay grade?

Not just you.
I spoke with HR at LanWar.

Turns out that Ingram
doesn't normally run

the training exercises,
but he put himself

on the roster that day.

Even dictated the target.

Well, that is not convenient.

Well, neither is buying
a company whose star product

makes you go deaf.

Where is he now?

Pinging his phone

as we speak.

Yeah? And?

Ooh. Uh, we might have
a problem here.

Ingram's at Diana's.

George?! What are you doing?

What took you so long?

How's it going
with the new assistant?

Yeah, to be honest,
I had completely

given up on finding anyone,
and then this guy...

This guy has exceeded
every expectation.

I swear, I've never
met anyone like him.

Really?

He doesn't, you know,
remind you of anyone?

I guess he puts off kind of,
like, a Tom Hiddleston vibe.

You know, Tom Hiddleston
never wears bow ties.

Tom Hiddleston
would never.

Yeah, right.

Do you know anyone

who does wear bow ties?

I mean,
aside from Dr. Mallard, no.

Oh...

Mm.

Yeah. No, I don't see it.

Rest well, young warrior.

We shall never know what heights
you may have climbed

or oceans you may have crossed.

Alas,

what could have been.

Okay, now I see it. Yeah.

Mm.

Congratulations, Mr. Crane.

You have done an excellent job.

I would like to officially
offer you the position.

Oh, dear.

Uh, actually, I was

just about to say
my goodbyes.

What's that?

Summer of 2015.

I was on a gondola
in Venice when

the boat tipped over,
and I suddenly realized

that I could swim better
than I ever imagined.

You see,

one has to fully appreciate
his own abilities

before he can truly know

what type of help to seek.

Mm.

Cheerio.

I have no idea
what that even means.

I think it means
back to the drawing board.

Thanks, Mike. You all right?

Yeah. You should
see the other guy.

I heard. I'm not surprised.

Appreciate you coming in.

I'm glad that you called.

I didn't get a chance
to say thank you.

Mm.

The Backer family
wanted you to have these.

Oh, I got something else
for you, too.

What's this?

Director Vance
pulled some strings.

It's a job offer
with the Marine Warfighting Lab.

Now that LanWar
is out of the picture,

they need a civilian liaison

to design
their training exercises.

Like Danny used to do.

Thank you.

Make him proud.

You make Danny proud.

Ooh-rah.

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