NCIS (2003–…): Season 7, Episode 9 - Child's Play - full transcript
A dead Marine's day job at a government think tank leads Gibbs and the team into the life of a 12-year-old prodigy who may be the killer's next target.
You tired?
You can't catch me!
You're not getting away!
Give up, I got you!
- Do not!
- You're done.
Am not!
Here I come!
Tag... you're it!
What's that?
It's a scarecrow, stupid.
- Now, come on, you're it.
- Wait, that.
Let's just get out of here.
Run, run!
You're not taking
the elevator.
Nope, took the stairs.
It's all about the cardio
these days.
You have been looking
increasingly
Kate Moss-ish there, McTim.
What are you down...
two, three pounds?
15 pounds, actually,
and thank you for noticing.
Well, that's what
I do for a living.
Eagle-eyed special agent.
- Girl?
- No girl.
Come on, McGee.
Nobody gives up the pizza
and the donuts
without a good reason.
All right,
you want the truth?
I usually gain a few pounds
during the holidays,
so, this year, I thought
I would counter it.
Oh, you can resume
your diet after
Thanksgiving, Timothy.
The, uh, traditional
Mallard table
is not for anyone
whose body isn't into
bountiful good cheer.
"A thanksgiving supper
at Mallard Manor.
All the fixin's."
I think you misspelled
"fixings."
Uh, Ducky, Thanksgiving
is in two days.
Yeah, well,
l-I'm aware of that.
I already have plans...
I'm gonna see my sister.
Well, bring her with you.
I also have accepted
an invitation
for Thanksgiving...
uh, a neighbor.
Oh, dear.
And Mr. Palmer
is already out of town.
Ducky, l-I also have plans.
Are you letting some blonde
bombshell baste your bird, Tony?
No, this bird's flying solo
to a poker tournament
at the Big Bend Indian Casino.
They've got
an all-you-can-eat crab buffet.
Pilgrims and Indians
gambling together...
that warms the heart.
What about your mother, Ducky?
Uh, Mother is comfortable,
thank you.
Staff take good care of her.
Poor dear.
She barely recognizes me
when I visit.
Well, then, uh, that leaves me
with a 20-pound bird
and enough trimmings
to feed Coxey's Army.
Not Army. Marines.
Got a dead one in a cornfield.
What, Duck,
you waiting for an invitation?
Oh, yes, uh, here's yours.
Thanksgiving.
Ah.
Here's yours.
Cornfield.
Let's go!
Maybe I'm amazed.
A maze of maize.
What?
"Maize"... it's the
Indian word for corn.
The Indian word
for corn is makki.
Not Indians from India,
Indians from, you know, here.
Well, if they were
Indians from here,
they would be called
American Indians, you dork.
No, they'd be called
Native Americans,
Miss Citizenship Test.
DiNozzo, process this.
Gibbs...
several sets of footprints,
some of them very small.
A couple kids found him.
These aren't kids' footprints.
Over here, those are big ones.
Come from that direction.
Drag marks.
Which means that
when they pulled our Marine,
he was dead already.
Ah, fresh corn.
That gives me an idea.
Why don't we have corn chowder
as our first course?
Poker.
Sister.
Neighbors.
Later.
Based on the viscosity
of the blood...
I'd say this is a recent demise.
My instinct tells me
he was not shot here.
This is Marine Lance Corporal
Trevor Lozada,
stationed out of Quantico, boss.
The corporal is missing a hand.
He was killed prior
to it being removed.
Otherwise, the blood pooling
would be much greater.
Maybe the crows carried it off.
Caw, caw!
Ow.
Sorry, I had to do it.
Sorry, boss.
Time of death:
eight to ten hours ago,
between 3:00 and 5:00.
PCs...
local gang, big up and down
the East Coast, boss.
Of course,
you already know that.
Maybe this is some sort of
initiation thing, you know?
Kill a Marine and you're in,
no questions asked.
Lance Corporal Lozada
was a gang member
before he joined the Marines.
His tat was lasered off.
Why would somebody shoot him,
bring him out here, carve
him up and cut off his hand?
Ziva, get on
DiNozzo's shoulders.
Boss?
I would rather not.
Bend over, Tony.
Boss...
Come on, Tony, use those quads.
Oh, God, boss.
- West.
- Turn this way.
- Okay.
- Uh, police cars.
North.
A farmer on a tractor.
East.
Barn...
200 yards away.
I got a cramp in my neck.
I got a cramp.
I don't think
they meant to hide him.
I mean, this place
is not exactly isolated.
So, whoever put
this body here...
Wanted him found.
Marine Lance Corporal
Trevor Lozada...
had a spotless service
record, multiple tours.
Rewarded with a very desirable
duty post
guarding the Sattler Institute
for Strategic Studies
and Analysis.
R & D, government think tank.
Naval War College and
Marine intel units use them.
Lance Corporal Lozada had
been there about six months.
I'm gonna call
the Sattler Institute,
let them know
we're heading over.
Current address on Lozada.
McGee, you and Ziva
check out Lozada.
DiNozzo, you're with me.
Sattler Institute?
Oh, boss, shouldn't
McSmarty-Pants go
to the nerd theme park?
I mean, it's gonna be
a nerd's paradise
with the World of Warcraft
wallpaper
and the pocket protectors
and the elfin-shaped beds.
'Cause I probably shouldn't...
I'll get the car.
Hi. NCIS.
Special Agents Gibbs
and DiNozzo.
Yes, I'm Krista Dalton,
facilities coordinator.
I spoke with someone
on the phone.
Something happened to
Lance Corporal Lozada?
He was found dead this morning
about 20 miles from here.
Oh, my God.
How did it happen?
Not very nicely, Krista.
What did Lance Corporal Lozada
guard around here?
Um, I'll show you.
Here.
This way.
He guarded
a day care center?
This isn't a day care.
This is our intelligence
testing center.
You test the intelligence
of these kids?
No, they test ours.
Hey, Parker, how's it going?
Parker's specialty
is the redeployment
of rapid response groups.
Thought we had people
at the Pentagon who do that.
We do.
But we've found
that gifted children
have a less linear,
less bureaucratic way
of approaching things...
simpler, cleaner, purer.
Where are their parents?
We have an arrangement
with the families.
The kids visit us for
a week or two at a time.
Helps maintain a nice
balance between home
and here and keep
the kids focused.
Ah.
I guess it's fun.
Well, these are just
puzzles and games to them.
So you're telling me
Lance Corporal Lozada was
a babysitter, basically.
No, a bodyguard.
These kids are incredibly
valuable to us and the military.
Hey, uh, when do I get
my MP3 player back?
When you stop wrapping the cord
around the ceiling fan, Brett.
I was testing my aerodynamic
theory of glide ratio versus
inverted torque.
W-What are you looking at?
Val Kilmer, Real Genius.
Brett, you like to break things,
which is why you wrapped
a cord around the ceiling fan.
You will get your MP3 player
back after Thanksgiving.
Okay, whatever.
Brett's one of
our prize students,
as well as one of the oldest.
Yeah, he's a real
smarty-pants.
Lucky you.
Any of these kids
personally close to Lozada?
One... Angela Kelp.
Angela had been acting
distracted lately,
so I asked
Lance Corporal Lozada
to keep an eye on her.
They hit it off.
She around here somewhere?
Yes, this way.
Ooh!
Sorry, boss.
Get us out of here! Drive!
I'm ready, Mr. Norvell.
- What do you see?
- Mistakes.
Would you care to elaborate?
First, the sun.
It's almost 30 degrees,
directly into our troops' eyes,
blinding them while concealing
the bad guys on the rooftop.
- Go on.
- They should never have been
in an open, exposed area
like this plaza.
It gives
the enemy gunners a clear,
unobstructed angle of fire.
Yeah... but they were headed
to rescue a unit under attack.
Yes. That's why they took
the most direct route.
What they should have done
was taken a less direct route
on narrower streets
with more vertical protection,
taller buildings.
Would have saved a lot of lives.
Impressive.
The art, I mean.
Thanks.
That's my cat back home.
What's its name?
Kimba.
Lives with me and my mom.
What about Dad?
Split when I was little.
Kimba's good at
taking out Taliban.
You should see
what she does to mice.
Agent Gibbs, NCIS,
this is Gregg Norvell,
our director of youth programs.
Whatever you need,
don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks.
Something happened, didn't it?
What do you mean?
To Lance Corporal Lozada.
Something happened
to him, right?
Is there someplace
the two of us could go talk?
Yeah, your room.
If you'd like to follow us.
I had a combined
S.A.T. score of 950.
Is that good?
Do you want a cupcake?
I made them.
Thanks.
Mmm.
So, what makes you think
something happened
to Lance Corporal Lozada?
Well, you're here, he's not.
You want to talk to me
because Trevor and I
were friends, right?
Uh-huh.
Did somebody... kill him?
Why would you ask that?
Because people emote more
sympathy when it's an accident.
You're searching.
Curious.
Do you know that a Marine
returning home from active duty
has a 38% greater chance
of being hurt or killed
than when he's deployed?
Did you make these?
They're good.
Thanks.
Krista says it's important
for me to express myself.
Yeah, I think she's right.
Just like it's important
that, if you know anything
about Trevor,
you should call me.
Yeah. Gibbs.
Mm-hmm.
Where?
Yeah, I'll be right there.
Thanks.
McGee.
LEOs matched the car's
registration to Lozada.
What's the distance
from the crime scene?
About, uh, six miles.
Didn't find anything
in his apartment,
but you were right.
He was a member
of the local gang... PCs.
DiNozzo.
Oh, hey. Look at that.
There's one of the slugs
we didn't find
in the lance corporal.
I patched into
his onboard MapSet program.
This was his route to and from
Sattler Institute every day.
And based on the time of death,
Lozada must have just left work.
Ziva.
Someone nicked the fuel line.
- Clean cut.
- Followed him
till his tank ran dry,
pulled up and ambushed him?
Took him to the cornfield.
Hey, DiNozzo.
Oh.
Yep, it's Lozada's.
Six incoming calls.
All listed to the same number,
billed to the same address.
Go.
Find our missing caller.
Got it. On it.
So, you brought me in here
for making phone calls
to a friend?
No, Eddie, because you
and Lance Corporal
Lozada were eses.
The file here says
that, uh, he broke off
his gang ties years ago.
Clearly, you haven't.
We had our disagreements,
but me and Trev
were like brothers.
Brothers? Really?
Metro Gang Division says
that, uh,
you tried to kill your brother
a few years ago,
when he left the PCs.
No.
People felt betrayed,
but we worked it out.
You worked it out.
That doesn't smell
so good to me.
Call me jaded.
Lozada took an oath.
He broke it.
It pissed you off.
Admit it.
If I wanted to kill him
back then, I would have.
Look, me and Trevor
grew up together,
and he burned me, so...
So, it's a grudge.
No, we just had
some unsettled business.
- Like what? - Like you don't
need to know about.
Oh.
Eddie...
you are a real cool customer,
aren't you?
Got to give you a hand.
Speaking of hands...
why'd you cut Trevor's off?
Carve "PC" into his arm?
Hmm?
That's a nice touch, Zorro.
It's kind of like putting
up a billboard
that says,
"Don't mess with the PCs,"
and Eddie Castillo...
he's not afraid of anyone,
including the Marines.
I didn't do that.
You got an alibi for last night?
- Lullaby.
- Alibi.
It's an after-hours club
for rich kids.
We handle the...
refreshments there.
Really?
Well, we'll see about that.
In the meantime,
I hope you like being
swabbed, poked and pricked.
Why?
'Cause we're checking you
for gunshot residue,
blood and dirt
from the crime scene.
Anything I can think of.
You know why?
'Cause you're messing
with my holidays.
And I don't like it when people
mess with my Thanksgiving.
Boss, you're going
to want to see this.
According to security sensors,
Lance Corporal Lozada
entered the dorm wing
this morning at 6:00 a.m.
That is impossible.
- He was dead.
- Exactly.
Dorm access requires
a palm scan, boss.
Well, that clears up
one mystery.
Someone needed his hand.
Yeah, but here's
the strange part.
That's Angela's room.
- They take anything?
- No.
Figure walked out
less than a minute later.
All he or she was carrying
was Lozada's hand.
All they did was
visit Angela's room.
Then they left.
Empty-handed.
So, Angela, you didn't see
anybody in your room
this morning?
No... but I was asleep.
Nothing missing?
# Look around #
# And think
where have you been... #
Two of my collages are gone.
Yeah?
Anything special about them?
Just collages.
Stuff, art.
# And don't forget #
# That this will pass in time #
Hey, would you mind
if I borrowed this?
# It's cold out this morning #
# You should be... #
Okay.
So, you know that your mom
knows you're coming with us
and that you're safe, right?
Sure you didn't see anything?
Positive.
Okay.
Let's go.
# Of year again. #
Hey, Abby.
Hang on a minute, Gibbs,
'cause this is important.
It's my great aunt's cranberry
sauce recipe. I lost it,
so I'm trying to duplicate it
before Ducky's
Thanksgiving dinner.
I don't want to let
Ducky's turkey down, you know?
Abby.
Today.
What can I do
for you, Gibblet?
It's kind of a seasonal
play on your...
I'm ready, sir.
Turn this into pictures.
Thought you were going to
give me something hard.
So what are you bringing
to Ducky's dinner?
Not sure I'm going.
What do you mean,
you're not going?
Who's going to carve the turkey?
Who's going to watch
the game with me?
Who's going to eat too much pie?
Abby... the photos.
What am I looking for?
Girl's room.
Panning shot.
Oh, she listens to H Is Orange.
What a cool little chick.
This is how geeks recreate.
Exhibit A.
She's so cute.
All right, stop it there.
Okay, blow up that one
and that one.
Those are cool. What are they?
That's what
you're gonna tell me.
Well, what am I looking for?
I have... absolutely no idea.
So it is hard.
More sugar.
Ah. Jethro.
You know that
little bakery near you?
I'd appreciate it
if you could bring
a dozen of their dinner rolls.
Got a confirmation
of death, Duck?
Oh, gunshot wound
to the head.
Well, what I presume
is the kill shot
entered his head here,
just behind his right ear,
traveled in an upward direction.
I was just about to find out
what damage it caused.
Before he was posted?
Oh, yes.
Clearly, the killer's intention
was to leave some sort
of macabre message.
Yeah, and not too shy about
indicating who was sending it.
Easy autograph to forge.
Duck,
I need a psych evaluation
on a 12-year-old girl.
Where do you go, Jethro?
What?
Over the past
nine Thanksgivings,
I've called your house;
you're never home.
Sometimes I even drive by.
So, I shall expect you
promptly 1600 hours.
Oh, that reminds me...
I mustn't go home without him.
Avoid sourdough rolls
if you can.
Their flavor clashes
with my salad dressing.
White bread is okay,
but whole wheat
would be preferable.
Oh, dear.
Thanks.
Can I get you something
to drink, Mrs. McKinna?
Hmm?
You remembered, Agent Gibbs.
Well, you're memorable, D'Arcy.
Holiday plans, Mrs. McKinna?
Sending a shopping list
to my husband, as we speak.
You cooking for the family?
That's the plan.
Why do I need a legal
youth advocate here?
It's the law, sweetie.
So, have you ever
killed anybody?
Me?
No.
David.
I'm ready for your young lady.
Okay, I will bring her up.
Mrs. McKinna?
Oh, you go on ahead, Ziva.
I'll be right there.
I got all my bars, and I'm only
up to celery stalks.
Gibbs. Ducky's waiting.
Yeah.
I'll take her up.
Okay.
Bye.
You take the stairs up
but the elevator down?
Knees.
Okay.
Got my attention.
You think I'm hiding something.
About Trevor.
Are you?
I told you.
You're safe here.
I know. That's not it.
I'm not in danger.
Who is?
Nobody.
Glad we talked.
Hello, I'm Dr. Mallard.
Please.
And if you wish,
you can call me Ducky.
Hello, Ducky.
Dr. Mallard, you may proceed.
I'm here if you need me, Angela.
Well, now, Angela.
Is this a psych evaluation?
I know there
are three types:
general, emergency and clinical.
This feels clinical to me.
Hey.
Ah, Jethro.
I was just coming to see you.
You all right, Duck?
Yeah, well, she had me
talking about my first pet.
It was a guinea pig
called Hunka Munka.
Passed away, ooh, about
the time I was her age.
Duck, you were supposed to
find out about her past.
Yeah, well, all that
went extremely well.
And?
Well, if she is
suppressing memories,
she does a remarkably
good job of it.
l-I didn't get anywhere there.
But I can tell you that
beneath that precocious bravado,
there is a very
sensitive little girl.
She may act twice her age,
but inside she's anything but.
- Secrets?
- Yeah, and when she's ready,
she will reveal them.
But I wouldn't push her.
Jethro, when I did just now,
she pushed right back.
Hey, boss, here you go.
Eddie Castillo's here again.
Yeah, well, go talk to him.
Me?
Yeah, you got something
better to do, DiNozzo?
Well, yeah, I got travel plans.
No, go, talk.
Right.
Hey, miss me, Eddie?
Look, I've got something to say.
It's about why
I was calling Trevor.
I'm all ears.
Um... I have a cousin.
He's nine years old.
He's already
getting into trouble,
and... I wanted to have
Trevor talk to him,
uh, about that Marine stuff.
Help straighten him out,
give him somebody to look up to.
Other than you?
Wow.
That warms my heart.
I'm serious, man.
I can't let my crew find out
that I'm trying to keep
my own blood out of this life.
Yeah, it's all about honor
and integrity with you,
isn't it, Eddie?
You don't know anything
about me, man!
I know plenty about you!
I know you're not angry at
Lozada, you're jealous of him.
'Cause he had the brains and
the guts to get out of the gang
and you didn't.
And he made something
of himself; you didn't.
Trevor got out
'cause he had a real job
and he could
take care of his family.
They were proud of him,
you know.
He earned that.
But I didn't kill him!
Look, he needed something
from me, too, okay?
He needed some advice.
Something about
some girl in trouble.
You're telling me
that a decorated Marine
calls you instead of the cops?
He said if he went to the cops,
then the girl's life
would be in danger.
I don't know why.
Girl have a name?
Angela.
Ugh!
Mm. Sorry.
My cousin Tetra's lime Jell-O
with yams,
marshmallows and pecans.
Some family traditions
should not be upheld.
That really, really,
really sucked.
Abby.
In a jiffy, Gibbs.
Did you know that "jiffy" is
one one-hundredths of a second?
I mean, it's an actual thing.
Unlike say, lickety-split,
which has no scientific
meaning whatsoever.
All right, we're almost there.
Get there, Abbs, in a jiffy.
There, okay.
I applied a biometric
algorithm recognition program
so the seemingly random
artistic patterns of her...
You don't really care
how I got there.
Okay, let's talk turkey.
A code.
It's more than a code, Gibbs.
It's her own language.
She used 26 shades
of color to correspond with
the 26 letters of the alphabet.
Once I figured that out,
I was able to translate
her art into letters.
A poem?
Yeah.
And it's dark and creepy.
Very detailed.
It's called,
"The Lady in a Fountain."
It's about death.
It's a poem.
Can you just ask me
about the second collage?
Please, please, please, please.
Abby, what am I looking at here?
It's a frequency-jamming
signal, Gibbs.
Frequency?
For what?
It's every communication code
for every ship,
plane and helicopter
in the United States Navy
and Marine Corps.
I don't know why she was
hiding military secrets
in her collages, unless...
I don't know...
she was gonna sell them?
Or someone else was for her.
Bank records
for Angela's mother.
Gibbs, Angela's mom
has called 13 times.
- She wants to see her daughter.
- Yeah, she will.
What'd you find, McGee?
Angela's mom's average income
for the past 16 years
is $43,000.
Okay, more recently.
Over the last three months,
her mother's made
three additional deposits
totaling 60 grand.
So, either her mother's
playing the ponies...
Or she's taking advantage
of her little girl.
It's like those
Magic Eye posters,
where you stare at them
and then, suddenly,
you see that hidden image.
Tony, Abby already un-hid it.
It's frequency-jamming
signals.
No, maybe if I...
Maybe if I try to unfocus...
Focus, DiNozzo.
That's it, boss.
Out of focus.
It's dolphins!
In moonlight!
Thank you, boss.
Anytime.
McGee.
Anytime.
Oh.
Boss, the, uh,
frequency-jamming signals
Abby pulled out of Angela's
collages are linked
to a Naval/Marine maneuver
called Ballistic Winter.
Now, copies of
these jamming signals
appeared on the black market
three months ago in China.
It's an open NCIS investigation.
There is no way that girl
stole state secrets.
She is a child.
You've clearly never
seen The Bad Seed.
Interpol have suspects?
Just one.
Follow along here, boss.
C-Ten Dynamics is
a U.S. defense firm
that does R & D in conjunction
with the Sattler Institute.
C-Ten's sales rep
is a woman named
Debra Leigh Dalton.
Dalton. Same last name
as our think tank
coordinator, Krista Dalton.
Sister?
Affirmative.
Uh, Debra is Krista's
younger sister.
Maybe that was Debra
sneaking into Angela's room.
I want to talk to Debra Dalton.
Uh, boss, that's gonna be
a bit of a problem.
Miss Dalton flew into D.C.
five days ago,
but never got to her house.
And there's no record of any
credit card or cell activity
since she arrived.
A mom, a daughter
and two sisters
trading government secrets.
It's like Hannah and Her Sisters
meets The 39 Steps.
Sorry.
Get Krista Dalton in here.
Put Angela in a safe house.
Safe houses have been
compromised... a computer glitch.
Should be cleared by tomorrow.
Motel?
Good luck finding one
right before Thanksgiving.
Ducky has an extra room.
You know, boss,
we've all got plans
- this holiday season and...
- Cancel them.
Play again?
This kid's a ringer.
Watch her.
I know that, Ray.
Hey, that's my money.
So, what's the buy-in?
For you?
Two bucks.
Okay, how about we play
for different stakes?
What do you have in mind?
I win, you tell me the truth.
About Lozada...
military secrets, everything.
Found the jamming signals that
were hidden in your artwork.
I wasn't hiding anything.
It's just how my mind works.
It's how I work out
puzzles they give me.
I do it through art, images.
Numbers, letters,
colors and shapes.
You build things.
Woodwork, right?
My father made cabinets.
Didn't you ever express yourself
in the things you made?
How many people at the Institute
know what was in your artwork?
I'm not sure.
Safe house is ready.
What is going on here,
Agent Gibbs?
Why is NCIS holding my daughter?
You've been getting
a lot of money lately.
No, no.
That is Angela's money.
Look, I never wanted her
to go there.
What mother wants to be
without her child?
But Angela thought that
it would be good for her.
She wanted
to fit in somewhere.
You really thought she was
getting paid all that
just to play video games?
We were told Angela's work
saved soldiers' lives.
The money didn't matter.
She felt good about helping.
It all goes to her college fund.
What are you suggesting?
How'd the dollars get to you?
The larger amounts came from
this company,
C-Ten Dynamics.
I assumed they were projects
Angela worked on.
Payments were approved
by Debra Dalton.
You know her?
No, I only ever
talked to Krista Dalton.
The checks come in the mail.
Yeah. Gibbs.
Boss, we got another body.
Mm-hmm.
It's a woman this time.
Where?
At the Institute.
All right.
Wait, when can I see
my daughter?
Soon.
A maintenance worker
from the Sattler Institute
found the body.
That'll spoil
your Thanksgiving.
Debra Dalton, boss.
Fished her out of the culvert.
Whoever put her down there
must've thought
that the body would wash away.
It's a pretty public place
for a murder.
I mean, employees,
security guards...
Dorms.
Angela's room.
"Lady in a Fountain."
Can I help?
Uh, I don't think so.
Thank you.
Can I watch TV?
Uh, it's on the blink,
I'm afraid.
Computer?
Uh, that's my laptop,
and it's in my car.
Books?
Ah, yes.
Uh, the library.
Uh, second door on the left.
Oh, just a moment, Ziva.
We have to start the brining.
Okay, Ducky, but I have to...
No, no, no, no.
It'll only take a moment.
Ah, there we are.
Now, then.
You know the secret
to a good stuffing
is not to get it too moist.
Oh, this is a bit awkward.
You know something? I think
we need a second pair of hands.
Uh, uh, young lady?
Angela?
Angela?!
Angela?
Angela, where are you?
She isn't in the library,
and she didn't go out back.
Ziva? Ziva?
Have you found her?
She's gone. Call Gibbs.
Agents are canvassing
the neighbors.
AMBER Alert? BOLOs?
No hits yet.
Traffic cameras?
D.O.T.'s are on full capacity
for the holidays, but checking.
I looked everywhere.
- Nothing.
- Nothing?
You didn't hear anything?
- Not car tires? Not voices?
- Nothing.
By the time I came outside,
she was gone.
It was all my fault.
I was too busy preparing
for tomorrow.
- No, it was my fault.
- I distracted you
from doing your job.
It's both of your faults.
Focus on fixing it.
Yeah. McGee.
I'll tell him.
Krista Dalton's
in interrogation.
You stay with Ducky.
You two, with me. Come on.
Are you accusing me
of taking her?
The care and safety of
those kids is my only concern.
I can see why.
Worth a lot to you.
We did some digging, and we
found your overseas accounts.
It's... It's not what you think.
What am I thinking?
Because it sure looks
like you made money
selling government secrets,
using these kids.
They're games.
Games?
We sold battle scenarios
to game designers in China.
Th-They paid a lot.
- You and your sister Debra?
- Yes.
Debra made contacts through
her trips to Asia for her firm.
C-Ten Dynamics.
We took some of the money...
Debra and l...
the rest we gave
to the families.
Sattler made a ton
off those kids,
never gave anything back!
It was old information...
useless!
Frequency jamming signals?
For Ballistic Winter... that
system was being phased out.
It's still classified.
Technically, but...
Which makes it
technically treason.
Someone murdered
Lance Corporal Lozada,
and you're talking to me
about game sales?
l-I had nothing to do
with his death!
Oh, my God.
That's... That's Debra.
How did this...
When did this happen?
Found her today.
Your day off.
Two dead bodies.
Both tied to you
and the Institute.
You think...
I killed my own sister?
Maybe to bury the trail.
Maybe to keep the money.
Oh, my God.
Angela is missing.
What does this dead Marine
and your dead sister
have to do with her?
- I don't know.
- Think!
I swear! I...
D-Debra was seeing someone.
She was afraid of him.
- She was going to break it
off... - Who? Give me a name!
She never told me.
She didn't want me involved.
You are involved!
- 14 or more...
- DiNozzo.
...city and county agencies
have now...
No sightings, boss.
Whoever's got her
is keeping her out of sight.
If anyone has seen her.
I just borrowed these from Abby.
I'm listening, Duck.
Well, apart from the cat,
everything in her room
is from the outside world.
- Hey, hey, hey... - The posters
she's chosen, the photographs,
the things she painted,
the things she's drawn.
Yeah, there's nothing
of herself.
It's as if she's resisting
showing the rest of the world
what she really cares about.
And when we talked,
she never once
mentioned her home
or the town
from whence she came.
- She was guarding it.
- Yeah.
Well, deep down,
I think she's just a scared
- little girl trying to
protect her mother. - Ziva.
I've been calling her mother's
house every ten minutes
like you said, but no answer.
I just got a credit card hit.
One of Ducky's credit cards.
What?
She took one of mine?
Clever girl.
Just bought a map of her
hometown at a service station.
She's dropping bread crumbs...
wants us to come get her.
If the killer is thinking
the same way we are...
He'll be waiting for her.
Let's go.
Whew!
Nice acceleration, boss.
I don't think that
clam chowder was any good.
I... I haven't
felt this way
since Aunt Lorraine's
Thanksgiving, back in '86.
Yeah, Abbs.
Gibbs.
Ducky said you were looking
for a connection
between Lance Corporal Lozada
and the woman found
in the culvert.
Talk faster, Abbs.
You're breaking up.
Okay.
I found traces of beeswax
and bleached linseed oil
on both Lance Corporal
Lozada's body
and a thumb impression on
the back of Debra Dalton's head.
It's like she was
held down and drowned.
We matched the water in her
lungs to the fountain in front
of the think tank building.
Exact chlorine
and alkali levels.
Both the oil and the wax
are used
as base ingredients
in oil-based paints.
Thanks, Abbs.
DiNozzo...
Uh, nausea sort of comes
in waves, boss.
But I'm working through it.
The paintings at Norvell's
workstation at the Institute.
They oil- or water-based?
Oil.
Uh, landscape, fruit bowls...
Oh, I really shouldn't
have had that clam chowder.
I'll take the back.
Hang on.
Mom! Mom!
Baby, run.
Run, please.
It's going to be okay, Mom.
Why are you doing this to us?
Tell her, Angela.
Tell her what you told
Lance Corporal Lozada.
What you wrote in your collages!
- Angela, go, please.
Just let her go! - Shut up!
Why'd you kill that woman?
She humiliated me.
It had to be done.
Same thing with Lozada,
- once you told him.
- No! No! No.
I think they bought the whole
gang retribution thing.
Don't you?
Time to take a little ride.
Let's go.
Move.
Let her go.
Back off!
I'll kill her!
Angela... look at me.
Move back! Now!
Ziva.
Got it.
She'll miss.
What's the probability
of that?
Based on the temperature
and humidity...
no wind, half moon, good light...
97.6%.
Last chance, Norvell.
Move or I'll do it.
Take it.
Mom...
Oh, baby.
Oh... Oh, baby.
It's okay.
Love you.
It's okay.
Oh, Ducky.
- Yay! Yay.
- It is such a pleasure
to have you all here.
Even though our togetherness
was not your first choice.
Ah, it's just Indian poker,
all-you-can-eat crab legs,
showgirls.
Relax, Tony.
Plenty of wine.
Well, then...
I suppose it's time to carve.
And, apparently,
we have a quorum.
Jethro!
Yay.
You remembered the rolls.
There's not a lot available
out there, Duck.
Ah!
A superb selection.
A toast.
Close friends
and dear family all,
a bountiful thanks
and good things for fall.
And to all a good night.
Wrong holiday.
Eh.
Cheers.
- To all of us.
- Happy Thanksgiving.
- Cheers.
- Jolly good.
You can't catch me!
You're not getting away!
Give up, I got you!
- Do not!
- You're done.
Am not!
Here I come!
Tag... you're it!
What's that?
It's a scarecrow, stupid.
- Now, come on, you're it.
- Wait, that.
Let's just get out of here.
Run, run!
You're not taking
the elevator.
Nope, took the stairs.
It's all about the cardio
these days.
You have been looking
increasingly
Kate Moss-ish there, McTim.
What are you down...
two, three pounds?
15 pounds, actually,
and thank you for noticing.
Well, that's what
I do for a living.
Eagle-eyed special agent.
- Girl?
- No girl.
Come on, McGee.
Nobody gives up the pizza
and the donuts
without a good reason.
All right,
you want the truth?
I usually gain a few pounds
during the holidays,
so, this year, I thought
I would counter it.
Oh, you can resume
your diet after
Thanksgiving, Timothy.
The, uh, traditional
Mallard table
is not for anyone
whose body isn't into
bountiful good cheer.
"A thanksgiving supper
at Mallard Manor.
All the fixin's."
I think you misspelled
"fixings."
Uh, Ducky, Thanksgiving
is in two days.
Yeah, well,
l-I'm aware of that.
I already have plans...
I'm gonna see my sister.
Well, bring her with you.
I also have accepted
an invitation
for Thanksgiving...
uh, a neighbor.
Oh, dear.
And Mr. Palmer
is already out of town.
Ducky, l-I also have plans.
Are you letting some blonde
bombshell baste your bird, Tony?
No, this bird's flying solo
to a poker tournament
at the Big Bend Indian Casino.
They've got
an all-you-can-eat crab buffet.
Pilgrims and Indians
gambling together...
that warms the heart.
What about your mother, Ducky?
Uh, Mother is comfortable,
thank you.
Staff take good care of her.
Poor dear.
She barely recognizes me
when I visit.
Well, then, uh, that leaves me
with a 20-pound bird
and enough trimmings
to feed Coxey's Army.
Not Army. Marines.
Got a dead one in a cornfield.
What, Duck,
you waiting for an invitation?
Oh, yes, uh, here's yours.
Thanksgiving.
Ah.
Here's yours.
Cornfield.
Let's go!
Maybe I'm amazed.
A maze of maize.
What?
"Maize"... it's the
Indian word for corn.
The Indian word
for corn is makki.
Not Indians from India,
Indians from, you know, here.
Well, if they were
Indians from here,
they would be called
American Indians, you dork.
No, they'd be called
Native Americans,
Miss Citizenship Test.
DiNozzo, process this.
Gibbs...
several sets of footprints,
some of them very small.
A couple kids found him.
These aren't kids' footprints.
Over here, those are big ones.
Come from that direction.
Drag marks.
Which means that
when they pulled our Marine,
he was dead already.
Ah, fresh corn.
That gives me an idea.
Why don't we have corn chowder
as our first course?
Poker.
Sister.
Neighbors.
Later.
Based on the viscosity
of the blood...
I'd say this is a recent demise.
My instinct tells me
he was not shot here.
This is Marine Lance Corporal
Trevor Lozada,
stationed out of Quantico, boss.
The corporal is missing a hand.
He was killed prior
to it being removed.
Otherwise, the blood pooling
would be much greater.
Maybe the crows carried it off.
Caw, caw!
Ow.
Sorry, I had to do it.
Sorry, boss.
Time of death:
eight to ten hours ago,
between 3:00 and 5:00.
PCs...
local gang, big up and down
the East Coast, boss.
Of course,
you already know that.
Maybe this is some sort of
initiation thing, you know?
Kill a Marine and you're in,
no questions asked.
Lance Corporal Lozada
was a gang member
before he joined the Marines.
His tat was lasered off.
Why would somebody shoot him,
bring him out here, carve
him up and cut off his hand?
Ziva, get on
DiNozzo's shoulders.
Boss?
I would rather not.
Bend over, Tony.
Boss...
Come on, Tony, use those quads.
Oh, God, boss.
- West.
- Turn this way.
- Okay.
- Uh, police cars.
North.
A farmer on a tractor.
East.
Barn...
200 yards away.
I got a cramp in my neck.
I got a cramp.
I don't think
they meant to hide him.
I mean, this place
is not exactly isolated.
So, whoever put
this body here...
Wanted him found.
Marine Lance Corporal
Trevor Lozada...
had a spotless service
record, multiple tours.
Rewarded with a very desirable
duty post
guarding the Sattler Institute
for Strategic Studies
and Analysis.
R & D, government think tank.
Naval War College and
Marine intel units use them.
Lance Corporal Lozada had
been there about six months.
I'm gonna call
the Sattler Institute,
let them know
we're heading over.
Current address on Lozada.
McGee, you and Ziva
check out Lozada.
DiNozzo, you're with me.
Sattler Institute?
Oh, boss, shouldn't
McSmarty-Pants go
to the nerd theme park?
I mean, it's gonna be
a nerd's paradise
with the World of Warcraft
wallpaper
and the pocket protectors
and the elfin-shaped beds.
'Cause I probably shouldn't...
I'll get the car.
Hi. NCIS.
Special Agents Gibbs
and DiNozzo.
Yes, I'm Krista Dalton,
facilities coordinator.
I spoke with someone
on the phone.
Something happened to
Lance Corporal Lozada?
He was found dead this morning
about 20 miles from here.
Oh, my God.
How did it happen?
Not very nicely, Krista.
What did Lance Corporal Lozada
guard around here?
Um, I'll show you.
Here.
This way.
He guarded
a day care center?
This isn't a day care.
This is our intelligence
testing center.
You test the intelligence
of these kids?
No, they test ours.
Hey, Parker, how's it going?
Parker's specialty
is the redeployment
of rapid response groups.
Thought we had people
at the Pentagon who do that.
We do.
But we've found
that gifted children
have a less linear,
less bureaucratic way
of approaching things...
simpler, cleaner, purer.
Where are their parents?
We have an arrangement
with the families.
The kids visit us for
a week or two at a time.
Helps maintain a nice
balance between home
and here and keep
the kids focused.
Ah.
I guess it's fun.
Well, these are just
puzzles and games to them.
So you're telling me
Lance Corporal Lozada was
a babysitter, basically.
No, a bodyguard.
These kids are incredibly
valuable to us and the military.
Hey, uh, when do I get
my MP3 player back?
When you stop wrapping the cord
around the ceiling fan, Brett.
I was testing my aerodynamic
theory of glide ratio versus
inverted torque.
W-What are you looking at?
Val Kilmer, Real Genius.
Brett, you like to break things,
which is why you wrapped
a cord around the ceiling fan.
You will get your MP3 player
back after Thanksgiving.
Okay, whatever.
Brett's one of
our prize students,
as well as one of the oldest.
Yeah, he's a real
smarty-pants.
Lucky you.
Any of these kids
personally close to Lozada?
One... Angela Kelp.
Angela had been acting
distracted lately,
so I asked
Lance Corporal Lozada
to keep an eye on her.
They hit it off.
She around here somewhere?
Yes, this way.
Ooh!
Sorry, boss.
Get us out of here! Drive!
I'm ready, Mr. Norvell.
- What do you see?
- Mistakes.
Would you care to elaborate?
First, the sun.
It's almost 30 degrees,
directly into our troops' eyes,
blinding them while concealing
the bad guys on the rooftop.
- Go on.
- They should never have been
in an open, exposed area
like this plaza.
It gives
the enemy gunners a clear,
unobstructed angle of fire.
Yeah... but they were headed
to rescue a unit under attack.
Yes. That's why they took
the most direct route.
What they should have done
was taken a less direct route
on narrower streets
with more vertical protection,
taller buildings.
Would have saved a lot of lives.
Impressive.
The art, I mean.
Thanks.
That's my cat back home.
What's its name?
Kimba.
Lives with me and my mom.
What about Dad?
Split when I was little.
Kimba's good at
taking out Taliban.
You should see
what she does to mice.
Agent Gibbs, NCIS,
this is Gregg Norvell,
our director of youth programs.
Whatever you need,
don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks.
Something happened, didn't it?
What do you mean?
To Lance Corporal Lozada.
Something happened
to him, right?
Is there someplace
the two of us could go talk?
Yeah, your room.
If you'd like to follow us.
I had a combined
S.A.T. score of 950.
Is that good?
Do you want a cupcake?
I made them.
Thanks.
Mmm.
So, what makes you think
something happened
to Lance Corporal Lozada?
Well, you're here, he's not.
You want to talk to me
because Trevor and I
were friends, right?
Uh-huh.
Did somebody... kill him?
Why would you ask that?
Because people emote more
sympathy when it's an accident.
You're searching.
Curious.
Do you know that a Marine
returning home from active duty
has a 38% greater chance
of being hurt or killed
than when he's deployed?
Did you make these?
They're good.
Thanks.
Krista says it's important
for me to express myself.
Yeah, I think she's right.
Just like it's important
that, if you know anything
about Trevor,
you should call me.
Yeah. Gibbs.
Mm-hmm.
Where?
Yeah, I'll be right there.
Thanks.
McGee.
LEOs matched the car's
registration to Lozada.
What's the distance
from the crime scene?
About, uh, six miles.
Didn't find anything
in his apartment,
but you were right.
He was a member
of the local gang... PCs.
DiNozzo.
Oh, hey. Look at that.
There's one of the slugs
we didn't find
in the lance corporal.
I patched into
his onboard MapSet program.
This was his route to and from
Sattler Institute every day.
And based on the time of death,
Lozada must have just left work.
Ziva.
Someone nicked the fuel line.
- Clean cut.
- Followed him
till his tank ran dry,
pulled up and ambushed him?
Took him to the cornfield.
Hey, DiNozzo.
Oh.
Yep, it's Lozada's.
Six incoming calls.
All listed to the same number,
billed to the same address.
Go.
Find our missing caller.
Got it. On it.
So, you brought me in here
for making phone calls
to a friend?
No, Eddie, because you
and Lance Corporal
Lozada were eses.
The file here says
that, uh, he broke off
his gang ties years ago.
Clearly, you haven't.
We had our disagreements,
but me and Trev
were like brothers.
Brothers? Really?
Metro Gang Division says
that, uh,
you tried to kill your brother
a few years ago,
when he left the PCs.
No.
People felt betrayed,
but we worked it out.
You worked it out.
That doesn't smell
so good to me.
Call me jaded.
Lozada took an oath.
He broke it.
It pissed you off.
Admit it.
If I wanted to kill him
back then, I would have.
Look, me and Trevor
grew up together,
and he burned me, so...
So, it's a grudge.
No, we just had
some unsettled business.
- Like what? - Like you don't
need to know about.
Oh.
Eddie...
you are a real cool customer,
aren't you?
Got to give you a hand.
Speaking of hands...
why'd you cut Trevor's off?
Carve "PC" into his arm?
Hmm?
That's a nice touch, Zorro.
It's kind of like putting
up a billboard
that says,
"Don't mess with the PCs,"
and Eddie Castillo...
he's not afraid of anyone,
including the Marines.
I didn't do that.
You got an alibi for last night?
- Lullaby.
- Alibi.
It's an after-hours club
for rich kids.
We handle the...
refreshments there.
Really?
Well, we'll see about that.
In the meantime,
I hope you like being
swabbed, poked and pricked.
Why?
'Cause we're checking you
for gunshot residue,
blood and dirt
from the crime scene.
Anything I can think of.
You know why?
'Cause you're messing
with my holidays.
And I don't like it when people
mess with my Thanksgiving.
Boss, you're going
to want to see this.
According to security sensors,
Lance Corporal Lozada
entered the dorm wing
this morning at 6:00 a.m.
That is impossible.
- He was dead.
- Exactly.
Dorm access requires
a palm scan, boss.
Well, that clears up
one mystery.
Someone needed his hand.
Yeah, but here's
the strange part.
That's Angela's room.
- They take anything?
- No.
Figure walked out
less than a minute later.
All he or she was carrying
was Lozada's hand.
All they did was
visit Angela's room.
Then they left.
Empty-handed.
So, Angela, you didn't see
anybody in your room
this morning?
No... but I was asleep.
Nothing missing?
# Look around #
# And think
where have you been... #
Two of my collages are gone.
Yeah?
Anything special about them?
Just collages.
Stuff, art.
# And don't forget #
# That this will pass in time #
Hey, would you mind
if I borrowed this?
# It's cold out this morning #
# You should be... #
Okay.
So, you know that your mom
knows you're coming with us
and that you're safe, right?
Sure you didn't see anything?
Positive.
Okay.
Let's go.
# Of year again. #
Hey, Abby.
Hang on a minute, Gibbs,
'cause this is important.
It's my great aunt's cranberry
sauce recipe. I lost it,
so I'm trying to duplicate it
before Ducky's
Thanksgiving dinner.
I don't want to let
Ducky's turkey down, you know?
Abby.
Today.
What can I do
for you, Gibblet?
It's kind of a seasonal
play on your...
I'm ready, sir.
Turn this into pictures.
Thought you were going to
give me something hard.
So what are you bringing
to Ducky's dinner?
Not sure I'm going.
What do you mean,
you're not going?
Who's going to carve the turkey?
Who's going to watch
the game with me?
Who's going to eat too much pie?
Abby... the photos.
What am I looking for?
Girl's room.
Panning shot.
Oh, she listens to H Is Orange.
What a cool little chick.
This is how geeks recreate.
Exhibit A.
She's so cute.
All right, stop it there.
Okay, blow up that one
and that one.
Those are cool. What are they?
That's what
you're gonna tell me.
Well, what am I looking for?
I have... absolutely no idea.
So it is hard.
More sugar.
Ah. Jethro.
You know that
little bakery near you?
I'd appreciate it
if you could bring
a dozen of their dinner rolls.
Got a confirmation
of death, Duck?
Oh, gunshot wound
to the head.
Well, what I presume
is the kill shot
entered his head here,
just behind his right ear,
traveled in an upward direction.
I was just about to find out
what damage it caused.
Before he was posted?
Oh, yes.
Clearly, the killer's intention
was to leave some sort
of macabre message.
Yeah, and not too shy about
indicating who was sending it.
Easy autograph to forge.
Duck,
I need a psych evaluation
on a 12-year-old girl.
Where do you go, Jethro?
What?
Over the past
nine Thanksgivings,
I've called your house;
you're never home.
Sometimes I even drive by.
So, I shall expect you
promptly 1600 hours.
Oh, that reminds me...
I mustn't go home without him.
Avoid sourdough rolls
if you can.
Their flavor clashes
with my salad dressing.
White bread is okay,
but whole wheat
would be preferable.
Oh, dear.
Thanks.
Can I get you something
to drink, Mrs. McKinna?
Hmm?
You remembered, Agent Gibbs.
Well, you're memorable, D'Arcy.
Holiday plans, Mrs. McKinna?
Sending a shopping list
to my husband, as we speak.
You cooking for the family?
That's the plan.
Why do I need a legal
youth advocate here?
It's the law, sweetie.
So, have you ever
killed anybody?
Me?
No.
David.
I'm ready for your young lady.
Okay, I will bring her up.
Mrs. McKinna?
Oh, you go on ahead, Ziva.
I'll be right there.
I got all my bars, and I'm only
up to celery stalks.
Gibbs. Ducky's waiting.
Yeah.
I'll take her up.
Okay.
Bye.
You take the stairs up
but the elevator down?
Knees.
Okay.
Got my attention.
You think I'm hiding something.
About Trevor.
Are you?
I told you.
You're safe here.
I know. That's not it.
I'm not in danger.
Who is?
Nobody.
Glad we talked.
Hello, I'm Dr. Mallard.
Please.
And if you wish,
you can call me Ducky.
Hello, Ducky.
Dr. Mallard, you may proceed.
I'm here if you need me, Angela.
Well, now, Angela.
Is this a psych evaluation?
I know there
are three types:
general, emergency and clinical.
This feels clinical to me.
Hey.
Ah, Jethro.
I was just coming to see you.
You all right, Duck?
Yeah, well, she had me
talking about my first pet.
It was a guinea pig
called Hunka Munka.
Passed away, ooh, about
the time I was her age.
Duck, you were supposed to
find out about her past.
Yeah, well, all that
went extremely well.
And?
Well, if she is
suppressing memories,
she does a remarkably
good job of it.
l-I didn't get anywhere there.
But I can tell you that
beneath that precocious bravado,
there is a very
sensitive little girl.
She may act twice her age,
but inside she's anything but.
- Secrets?
- Yeah, and when she's ready,
she will reveal them.
But I wouldn't push her.
Jethro, when I did just now,
she pushed right back.
Hey, boss, here you go.
Eddie Castillo's here again.
Yeah, well, go talk to him.
Me?
Yeah, you got something
better to do, DiNozzo?
Well, yeah, I got travel plans.
No, go, talk.
Right.
Hey, miss me, Eddie?
Look, I've got something to say.
It's about why
I was calling Trevor.
I'm all ears.
Um... I have a cousin.
He's nine years old.
He's already
getting into trouble,
and... I wanted to have
Trevor talk to him,
uh, about that Marine stuff.
Help straighten him out,
give him somebody to look up to.
Other than you?
Wow.
That warms my heart.
I'm serious, man.
I can't let my crew find out
that I'm trying to keep
my own blood out of this life.
Yeah, it's all about honor
and integrity with you,
isn't it, Eddie?
You don't know anything
about me, man!
I know plenty about you!
I know you're not angry at
Lozada, you're jealous of him.
'Cause he had the brains and
the guts to get out of the gang
and you didn't.
And he made something
of himself; you didn't.
Trevor got out
'cause he had a real job
and he could
take care of his family.
They were proud of him,
you know.
He earned that.
But I didn't kill him!
Look, he needed something
from me, too, okay?
He needed some advice.
Something about
some girl in trouble.
You're telling me
that a decorated Marine
calls you instead of the cops?
He said if he went to the cops,
then the girl's life
would be in danger.
I don't know why.
Girl have a name?
Angela.
Ugh!
Mm. Sorry.
My cousin Tetra's lime Jell-O
with yams,
marshmallows and pecans.
Some family traditions
should not be upheld.
That really, really,
really sucked.
Abby.
In a jiffy, Gibbs.
Did you know that "jiffy" is
one one-hundredths of a second?
I mean, it's an actual thing.
Unlike say, lickety-split,
which has no scientific
meaning whatsoever.
All right, we're almost there.
Get there, Abbs, in a jiffy.
There, okay.
I applied a biometric
algorithm recognition program
so the seemingly random
artistic patterns of her...
You don't really care
how I got there.
Okay, let's talk turkey.
A code.
It's more than a code, Gibbs.
It's her own language.
She used 26 shades
of color to correspond with
the 26 letters of the alphabet.
Once I figured that out,
I was able to translate
her art into letters.
A poem?
Yeah.
And it's dark and creepy.
Very detailed.
It's called,
"The Lady in a Fountain."
It's about death.
It's a poem.
Can you just ask me
about the second collage?
Please, please, please, please.
Abby, what am I looking at here?
It's a frequency-jamming
signal, Gibbs.
Frequency?
For what?
It's every communication code
for every ship,
plane and helicopter
in the United States Navy
and Marine Corps.
I don't know why she was
hiding military secrets
in her collages, unless...
I don't know...
she was gonna sell them?
Or someone else was for her.
Bank records
for Angela's mother.
Gibbs, Angela's mom
has called 13 times.
- She wants to see her daughter.
- Yeah, she will.
What'd you find, McGee?
Angela's mom's average income
for the past 16 years
is $43,000.
Okay, more recently.
Over the last three months,
her mother's made
three additional deposits
totaling 60 grand.
So, either her mother's
playing the ponies...
Or she's taking advantage
of her little girl.
It's like those
Magic Eye posters,
where you stare at them
and then, suddenly,
you see that hidden image.
Tony, Abby already un-hid it.
It's frequency-jamming
signals.
No, maybe if I...
Maybe if I try to unfocus...
Focus, DiNozzo.
That's it, boss.
Out of focus.
It's dolphins!
In moonlight!
Thank you, boss.
Anytime.
McGee.
Anytime.
Oh.
Boss, the, uh,
frequency-jamming signals
Abby pulled out of Angela's
collages are linked
to a Naval/Marine maneuver
called Ballistic Winter.
Now, copies of
these jamming signals
appeared on the black market
three months ago in China.
It's an open NCIS investigation.
There is no way that girl
stole state secrets.
She is a child.
You've clearly never
seen The Bad Seed.
Interpol have suspects?
Just one.
Follow along here, boss.
C-Ten Dynamics is
a U.S. defense firm
that does R & D in conjunction
with the Sattler Institute.
C-Ten's sales rep
is a woman named
Debra Leigh Dalton.
Dalton. Same last name
as our think tank
coordinator, Krista Dalton.
Sister?
Affirmative.
Uh, Debra is Krista's
younger sister.
Maybe that was Debra
sneaking into Angela's room.
I want to talk to Debra Dalton.
Uh, boss, that's gonna be
a bit of a problem.
Miss Dalton flew into D.C.
five days ago,
but never got to her house.
And there's no record of any
credit card or cell activity
since she arrived.
A mom, a daughter
and two sisters
trading government secrets.
It's like Hannah and Her Sisters
meets The 39 Steps.
Sorry.
Get Krista Dalton in here.
Put Angela in a safe house.
Safe houses have been
compromised... a computer glitch.
Should be cleared by tomorrow.
Motel?
Good luck finding one
right before Thanksgiving.
Ducky has an extra room.
You know, boss,
we've all got plans
- this holiday season and...
- Cancel them.
Play again?
This kid's a ringer.
Watch her.
I know that, Ray.
Hey, that's my money.
So, what's the buy-in?
For you?
Two bucks.
Okay, how about we play
for different stakes?
What do you have in mind?
I win, you tell me the truth.
About Lozada...
military secrets, everything.
Found the jamming signals that
were hidden in your artwork.
I wasn't hiding anything.
It's just how my mind works.
It's how I work out
puzzles they give me.
I do it through art, images.
Numbers, letters,
colors and shapes.
You build things.
Woodwork, right?
My father made cabinets.
Didn't you ever express yourself
in the things you made?
How many people at the Institute
know what was in your artwork?
I'm not sure.
Safe house is ready.
What is going on here,
Agent Gibbs?
Why is NCIS holding my daughter?
You've been getting
a lot of money lately.
No, no.
That is Angela's money.
Look, I never wanted her
to go there.
What mother wants to be
without her child?
But Angela thought that
it would be good for her.
She wanted
to fit in somewhere.
You really thought she was
getting paid all that
just to play video games?
We were told Angela's work
saved soldiers' lives.
The money didn't matter.
She felt good about helping.
It all goes to her college fund.
What are you suggesting?
How'd the dollars get to you?
The larger amounts came from
this company,
C-Ten Dynamics.
I assumed they were projects
Angela worked on.
Payments were approved
by Debra Dalton.
You know her?
No, I only ever
talked to Krista Dalton.
The checks come in the mail.
Yeah. Gibbs.
Boss, we got another body.
Mm-hmm.
It's a woman this time.
Where?
At the Institute.
All right.
Wait, when can I see
my daughter?
Soon.
A maintenance worker
from the Sattler Institute
found the body.
That'll spoil
your Thanksgiving.
Debra Dalton, boss.
Fished her out of the culvert.
Whoever put her down there
must've thought
that the body would wash away.
It's a pretty public place
for a murder.
I mean, employees,
security guards...
Dorms.
Angela's room.
"Lady in a Fountain."
Can I help?
Uh, I don't think so.
Thank you.
Can I watch TV?
Uh, it's on the blink,
I'm afraid.
Computer?
Uh, that's my laptop,
and it's in my car.
Books?
Ah, yes.
Uh, the library.
Uh, second door on the left.
Oh, just a moment, Ziva.
We have to start the brining.
Okay, Ducky, but I have to...
No, no, no, no.
It'll only take a moment.
Ah, there we are.
Now, then.
You know the secret
to a good stuffing
is not to get it too moist.
Oh, this is a bit awkward.
You know something? I think
we need a second pair of hands.
Uh, uh, young lady?
Angela?
Angela?!
Angela?
Angela, where are you?
She isn't in the library,
and she didn't go out back.
Ziva? Ziva?
Have you found her?
She's gone. Call Gibbs.
Agents are canvassing
the neighbors.
AMBER Alert? BOLOs?
No hits yet.
Traffic cameras?
D.O.T.'s are on full capacity
for the holidays, but checking.
I looked everywhere.
- Nothing.
- Nothing?
You didn't hear anything?
- Not car tires? Not voices?
- Nothing.
By the time I came outside,
she was gone.
It was all my fault.
I was too busy preparing
for tomorrow.
- No, it was my fault.
- I distracted you
from doing your job.
It's both of your faults.
Focus on fixing it.
Yeah. McGee.
I'll tell him.
Krista Dalton's
in interrogation.
You stay with Ducky.
You two, with me. Come on.
Are you accusing me
of taking her?
The care and safety of
those kids is my only concern.
I can see why.
Worth a lot to you.
We did some digging, and we
found your overseas accounts.
It's... It's not what you think.
What am I thinking?
Because it sure looks
like you made money
selling government secrets,
using these kids.
They're games.
Games?
We sold battle scenarios
to game designers in China.
Th-They paid a lot.
- You and your sister Debra?
- Yes.
Debra made contacts through
her trips to Asia for her firm.
C-Ten Dynamics.
We took some of the money...
Debra and l...
the rest we gave
to the families.
Sattler made a ton
off those kids,
never gave anything back!
It was old information...
useless!
Frequency jamming signals?
For Ballistic Winter... that
system was being phased out.
It's still classified.
Technically, but...
Which makes it
technically treason.
Someone murdered
Lance Corporal Lozada,
and you're talking to me
about game sales?
l-I had nothing to do
with his death!
Oh, my God.
That's... That's Debra.
How did this...
When did this happen?
Found her today.
Your day off.
Two dead bodies.
Both tied to you
and the Institute.
You think...
I killed my own sister?
Maybe to bury the trail.
Maybe to keep the money.
Oh, my God.
Angela is missing.
What does this dead Marine
and your dead sister
have to do with her?
- I don't know.
- Think!
I swear! I...
D-Debra was seeing someone.
She was afraid of him.
- She was going to break it
off... - Who? Give me a name!
She never told me.
She didn't want me involved.
You are involved!
- 14 or more...
- DiNozzo.
...city and county agencies
have now...
No sightings, boss.
Whoever's got her
is keeping her out of sight.
If anyone has seen her.
I just borrowed these from Abby.
I'm listening, Duck.
Well, apart from the cat,
everything in her room
is from the outside world.
- Hey, hey, hey... - The posters
she's chosen, the photographs,
the things she painted,
the things she's drawn.
Yeah, there's nothing
of herself.
It's as if she's resisting
showing the rest of the world
what she really cares about.
And when we talked,
she never once
mentioned her home
or the town
from whence she came.
- She was guarding it.
- Yeah.
Well, deep down,
I think she's just a scared
- little girl trying to
protect her mother. - Ziva.
I've been calling her mother's
house every ten minutes
like you said, but no answer.
I just got a credit card hit.
One of Ducky's credit cards.
What?
She took one of mine?
Clever girl.
Just bought a map of her
hometown at a service station.
She's dropping bread crumbs...
wants us to come get her.
If the killer is thinking
the same way we are...
He'll be waiting for her.
Let's go.
Whew!
Nice acceleration, boss.
I don't think that
clam chowder was any good.
I... I haven't
felt this way
since Aunt Lorraine's
Thanksgiving, back in '86.
Yeah, Abbs.
Gibbs.
Ducky said you were looking
for a connection
between Lance Corporal Lozada
and the woman found
in the culvert.
Talk faster, Abbs.
You're breaking up.
Okay.
I found traces of beeswax
and bleached linseed oil
on both Lance Corporal
Lozada's body
and a thumb impression on
the back of Debra Dalton's head.
It's like she was
held down and drowned.
We matched the water in her
lungs to the fountain in front
of the think tank building.
Exact chlorine
and alkali levels.
Both the oil and the wax
are used
as base ingredients
in oil-based paints.
Thanks, Abbs.
DiNozzo...
Uh, nausea sort of comes
in waves, boss.
But I'm working through it.
The paintings at Norvell's
workstation at the Institute.
They oil- or water-based?
Oil.
Uh, landscape, fruit bowls...
Oh, I really shouldn't
have had that clam chowder.
I'll take the back.
Hang on.
Mom! Mom!
Baby, run.
Run, please.
It's going to be okay, Mom.
Why are you doing this to us?
Tell her, Angela.
Tell her what you told
Lance Corporal Lozada.
What you wrote in your collages!
- Angela, go, please.
Just let her go! - Shut up!
Why'd you kill that woman?
She humiliated me.
It had to be done.
Same thing with Lozada,
- once you told him.
- No! No! No.
I think they bought the whole
gang retribution thing.
Don't you?
Time to take a little ride.
Let's go.
Move.
Let her go.
Back off!
I'll kill her!
Angela... look at me.
Move back! Now!
Ziva.
Got it.
She'll miss.
What's the probability
of that?
Based on the temperature
and humidity...
no wind, half moon, good light...
97.6%.
Last chance, Norvell.
Move or I'll do it.
Take it.
Mom...
Oh, baby.
Oh... Oh, baby.
It's okay.
Love you.
It's okay.
Oh, Ducky.
- Yay! Yay.
- It is such a pleasure
to have you all here.
Even though our togetherness
was not your first choice.
Ah, it's just Indian poker,
all-you-can-eat crab legs,
showgirls.
Relax, Tony.
Plenty of wine.
Well, then...
I suppose it's time to carve.
And, apparently,
we have a quorum.
Jethro!
Yay.
You remembered the rolls.
There's not a lot available
out there, Duck.
Ah!
A superb selection.
A toast.
Close friends
and dear family all,
a bountiful thanks
and good things for fall.
And to all a good night.
Wrong holiday.
Eh.
Cheers.
- To all of us.
- Happy Thanksgiving.
- Cheers.
- Jolly good.