NCIS (2003–…): Season 8, Episode 16 - Kill Screen - full transcript

- Whoa, whoa. Oh, sorry. Sorry.
Watch where you're going.

Everybody's got an angle, huh?

Get your dogs right here.
Who's next?

I'll take two kraut dogs.
Excuse me. I need a napkin.

Thank you.

Not exactly your style.

Uh, it's a gift for my mom.

Mind if I take a look inside?

Yes.

Wasn't a request.

Come on, man. This is harassment.
That's my purse.

What the hell?

Hands up where I can see them!

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Whoa, that's not my purse.

Uh, boss, wouldn't do that. I just
finished calibrating your monitors.

- Was working fine until you touched it.
- Hmm.

All I did was tweak
the color gamma.

Mind if I? Thanks.

We just need to restart
your e-mail clients. No.

All right, let me try this.

- Boss, that's really not gonna help.
- Well, it helps me.

Oh. Ah, ah. Um...

Sorry, boss. Sorry.

Thanks. Thank you. I'm sorry. Um...

How about you take mine?

It's a double half-caf Sumatra blend
with a twist of lemon.

I'll have it fixed
by the time you get back.

Good morning, boss. I like that shirt.

Hope you didn't break
his computer.

He doesn't like that
even when it's working.

I should've listened to my horoscope.
It said I should stay home today.

- Your horoscope?
- What else did it say?

Avoid new relationships.

Which, after last week,
is probably not a bad idea either.

- What's so funny?
- Just that you think you have a choice.

- And that you read your horoscope.
- Just for fun. But it is interesting.

I have been thinking about taking
a break from dating for a while.

- Okay, now what's so funny?
- Same thing.

Thanks for the support, Tony.

- I thought you were going for coffee.
- Yeah, I was. Grab your gear.

We've got a dead Marine,
at least some of him.

Just give me one second here, boss.
I almost have this fixed.

Fixed. Let's go.

We've got the same ID
Arlington P.D. did.

Corporal Zack Armstrong.

- Check them all, McGee.
- We also need to ID the teeth.

I have already requested
the corporal's dental records.

I could construct a mold
when we get back to the Navy Yard.

- Is this all there is?
Yep.

Any clue as to
where the rest of him is?

- No.
Well, interesting.

This tooth appears to have
been extracted with a pair of pliers.

Victim dead or alive, Duck?
Impossible to say.

But all these identifying features

- have been removed for a reason.
- Dead.

I'll check with coroner.
See if anything's turned up.

Pickpocket told us
the same story he told the cops.

We pulled prints
from the hot dog cart.

Hopefully,
our suspect is among them.

He's one cold-blooded killer.

Stops for a hot dog
while getting rid of evidence.

But it's not uncommon for killers

to find themselves unusually hungry
after the act.

It is uncommon, however,

to find them disposing of the evidence
in such a stylish bag.

Actually, it's a knockoff.

You can tell by the stitching here

and how steep the curves are
on the C's.

- It's a long story.
And a good catch, Gremlin.

Might help us trace it.

Need to find the rest of his victim.

I think I just did.
County coroner's got a body,

found it in Glen Oak Preserve
not far from here.

Tied to a tree,
missing his fingers and teeth.

It's gotta be our guy.

The good news is DNA confirms
this is, in fact, Corporal Armstrong.

Okay. Give me the bad news.

Well, I haven't started my autopsy yet,
but the previous ME

had some information,
which I thought relevant.

Her report indicates
that this bullet wound to the head

- was post-mortem.
- Killer making sure he was dead.

Well, the actual cause of death
is far more interesting.

This is Armstrong's medical file.

It says right here that he is...

- Five-six.
- Yes.

Though I measure him
at just over 6 feet tall.

Hell of a growth spurt.

X-rays indicate massive dislocations
to virtually every bone in his body.

And synovial capsule trauma

tells me that these occurred
rather slowly.

And I'm sure you noticed
the rope burns

to his wrists and ankles.

So he was tied up
and he was tortured.

Rather violently, using a method

that was quite popular
during the Spanish Inquisition

known as the rack.

Our corporal was stretched to death.

Corporal Zack Armstrong, 25,
was a decorated Marine.

He was about to be deployed
to Afghanistan.

Before that,
he served two tours in Iraq.

Which earned him a Silver Star.

He single-handedly captured
the Nine and Ten of Clubs

in the Iraq War fugitive
deck of cards.

High-profile targets.

With many
just now being sentenced.

Think the corporal's murder
was payback for their capture?

He was tied
while someone drove off with his feet.

He certainly pissed off somebody.

Witnesses say they saw him arguing
with a woman outside a theater

the night before he was killed.
They said she was, um, pissed.

- You got a name?
- Not yet.

I could check ATM cameras
in the area.

Not without a warrant, of course.

- Always.
You must be Agent McGee.

Can I help you with something?

Blake Martin, Viperkey Security.

I e-mailed you about my visit.

We've been having
some computer problems today.

Huh, so are we.

My company handles certain sensitive
security issues for the Pentagon.

I was assigned by DoD
to investigate several breaches

- that have emanated from this office.
- Really?

It must be some computer virus
or something.

Or illegal hacking.

Now, you are Agent McGee, right?

Your director assigned you
to help me with my investigation.

Sure, yeah, sure. Happy to help.

Oh, excuse me.

Someone used our Marine's card.

- Take Ziva.
- Yes, boss.

- Uh, sorry, I've got...
- Of course, I understand.

I'll be here when you get back.

Welcome to the year 2096,

the year of peace.

So we're looking for a player
named Max Destructo.

He paid for his game using
Corporal Armstrong's credit card.

- Should be out soon.
- Oh, God!

Red team eliminated.

It's gonna be me when that Pentagon
guy is done with his investigation.

This is a very interesting way
to spend money.

Green team eliminated.

- Do you do this?
- No, no.

No. It's too geeky, even for me.

Hey, McGee-minator.
Heh, are you ready for a rematch?

Hey. Uh...

No, actually, I'm here working.
Sorry.

Twelve, 39, 46. Red team...

McGee-minator?

Maybe I played once here. Twice.

Oh, here's our guy.

Excuse me. NCIS.
We need to speak with you.

Please turn around, Max.

Maxine.

- And I don't have to talk to you.
Actually, you do.

Did you use this man's credit card?

Ha, ha.
Oh, my God, he called the cops?

Yeah, we were dating.

Found out he was screwing around,
so I dumped him.

About a week ago.

- And stole his credit card?
No, he owed me money.

I was using the card
to square the debt.

Look, you can have
his stupid card back.

He won't be needing it. He's dead.

Murdered, actually.

Match start, three, two, one.

What happened?

Well, that's what we're trying
to figure out.

Care to add anything
to your statement?

Yeah, uh, there is something else.

He gave me this envelope
when we were dating.

Was weird about it.

- What was in it?
- I don't know.

He made me promise not to open it,

you know, unless he didn't come back
from Afghanistan.

I've been holding it hostage
until he paid me back. It's at my place.

Just give me a minute.

Why don't you go?

I'll stay and, uh...

...and finish the interview
with the manager.

How about I stay?

Look, I'm supposed
to be avoiding relationships.

- And she's...
- She's...

- She's pretty, isn't she?
- She is pretty.

- Fine, I'll go with her.
Ha-ha-ha.

I gotta start somewhere.

Pony up. McGee is not going to jail
if I can help it.

Oh, McGee's not gonna
go to jail, Abs.

Can you say that
with 100 percent certainty?

All right then, on to the case.

Um, I ID'd the bullet
from Armstrong's head.

It doesn't match
any unsolved cases.

But I did get tons of hits on this.

Palmer was right. It's a fake.

And I traced it to an online retailer
in Indonesia.

- I need their client list.
- Well, that's not really my department,

but for 5 bucks,
I can see what I can do.

You're a good man.

And for that,

I give you this.

Pogostemon cablin. Smell.

- Smells like...
- Patchouli.

It was used for centuries
as an insecticide

until it burst on the scene in the '60s
as a perfume.

Why are you having me smell that,
Abs?

Because Ducky found traces of this

in the scratch
that was on Armstrong's face.

So whoever he was with
when he was killed was wearing it.

Unfortunately,
that narrows our suspect pool down

to pretty much everyone
that was at Woodstock.

So once I have the fusion module,
how do I get into the reactor?

There's a key
under the Dragon Lord's throne.

Ah, he kills me every time,
he eats my tongue.

Well, it takes practice. Here.
Let me get your envelope.

You can come in, you know.

I prefer not to.

Why?

Because you're supposed
to be avoiding relationships?

You heard that?

Yep.

Bit presumptuous, but you can relax.
You're not really my type.

Think that has something to do
with Zack's murder?

Well, if it does, I'll find out.

I mean, we'll find out.

I mean...

Is that a 12-core?

Sixteen. With a 10-meg pipe.

I need the faster response times
for the newer online games.

There's a lot of people
after my high scores.

Wait a second. Is Max Destructo
your gaming handle too?

But it's not just Max Destructo.

- It's Max Destructo 574s?
- Nope, just Max Destructo.

You hold the high score

in virtually every massively multiplayer
online role-playing game.

You single-handedly killed
the entire skank horde

from Isle of Cardias in "Bloodfun VI."

You're awesome.

You know, I lied.
You actually are my type.

"Danger, Will Robinson."

I love that show.

Me too. Me too.

I should go.

You should stay.

Sixteen cores. What a waste.

So was the target your girlfriend
or her computer?

- She's not my girlfriend.
Tony said she was very clingy

when they went to the safe house
last night.

Well, it's just a normal reaction
to being shot at.

This shooting's gotta be connected
to Corporal Armstrong's murder.

McGee, maybe it has something to do
with his, um, mystery letter, huh?

Sealed. I guess we're gonna have
to wait for Abby to tell us what's inside.

Shooter didn't police his brass.

I don't think he had time.

Neighbors see anything?

No one saw the shooting itself. Did
your girlfriend happen to mention...?

She's not my girlfriend, Ziva.
She's just another victim.

Fine. Did the victim
happen to mention

any unusual vehicles around the area
this past week?

- She didn't mention it.
- Well, several neighbors did.

- I have a partial plate.
- Run it down.

B... Back at NCIS?

Yeah. Is there a problem, McGee?

No. No, not at all.

Back already?

Yeah, just running a partial plate
here.

Oh, on that drive-by shooting?
I heard about that. Exciting stuff.

Yeah. Thrilling.

How's your work going?

Nothing like yours.

Well, I used to be a sergeant
in Force Recon,

but now all I do is spend all my time
sitting at a desk,

chasing down ones and zeroes.

Only thing we have in common
is we both put people in jail.

- How's that looking?
Well, so far, I got nothing.

Either this hacker is pretty good
at covering his tracks

or maybe it's a virus, like you said.

- Either way, I won't stop until...
- Uh, Abby have any luck

with those fragments
in Maxine's apartment?

She matched them with the slugs

- she pulled out of Armstrong's head.
- Same shooter.

She also opened
Armstrong's mystery envelope.

Give you two guesses
as to what was inside.

Secret blueprints.

Swiss bank account numbers.

Not even close. Hey, boss.

Armstrong gave his girlfriend a copy
of his last will and testament.

- Not his girlfriend.
- He's leaving

over a million bucks to his mom

and then 5 million to various animal
and children's charities.

Does Armstrong have money
like that?

Not even close.

He does not even have $5,000
to his name.

That you know of.

Do you guys
have a forensic accountant?

Is there something else
you could be doing?

Actually, boss,
that's a really great angle.

Don't you think?

- Can you give us some names?
Sure.

We use forensic accountants
all the time.

Not having much luck here, anyway.
Hey. There you are, Agent McGee.

You got a hit on your shooter.

Oh.

Great, name came back
on the partial plate.

Lisa Bock.

Martial arts instructor.

Recently sentenced to court-assigned
anger-management classes.

Sounds like killer material to me.

One more deep breath.

All the way down
to your root chakra.

Welcome to your body.

And, uh, also, welcome your friendly
neighborhood NCIS agent.

Don't worry, everybody.
We're here to talk to Lisa.

- We have a few questions, Lisa.
- Now?

I mean, now?

Uh-huh.

I thought you were
a martial arts instructor.

I was, but in light
of some recent, uh, legal troubles...

You slashed a student's tires.

My therapist suggested
I find a new line of work.

I approve.

- You know this woman?
- You mean man-stealing piece of...

Sorry. That wasn't nice.

We dated the same guy.

Corporal Zack Armstrong?

Yeah.

I thought he was a nice guy
until he gave me a fake will.

Told me not to open it unless
he didn't return from Afghanistan.

- How did you know it was fake?
- I found copies

when I, uh, accidentally went
through his desk.

He'd give them
to women he was dating

to make them think he was loaded.

Cheeseball even kept a case
of fake Chanel purses in his trunk.

That is disgusting.

I was gonna say genius,
except for the fact he's dead now.

I heard.
I guess he pissed off the wrong girl.

Heh.

What?

Someone left patchouli
on the dead guy's face.

When we broke up,
I may have, uh, accidentally hit him.

But I didn't kill him.

And her?

Someone made an attempt on her life
last night.

Last night, I was teaching a class. The
same thing the night Zack was killed.

You want some advice?
Zack was on every dating site there is.

See who else
he's been screwing over.

There's a lot of really unstable women
out there.

Abs, hey. You busy?

I'm just processing
Armstrong's computer.

Mind if I use your spare?
Trying to keep a low profile.

Hey, don't you worry, McGee.
We've got your back.

Oh, let's hope
it doesn't come to that.

So, what are you looking for?

Got a lead on the shooter.
Women Armstrong's been dating.

There's a lot.
Gonna have to interview them all.

Well, maybe you'll meet someone.

Though I heard you already have.

What? Wait, what? No.
Who told you that?

- I mean, if you have, it's okay.
- But I haven't.

Well, that's not what I hear.

Which would be fine with me.
I mean, why wouldn't it be?

- You tell me.
- Nothing to tell.

- Okay, then.
- Okay, then.

Hmm.

Oh, what you got?

There's some sort of bug
on Armstrong's computer.

Oh, I see it.
It's an eavesdropping program

remotely installed over the Internet.
Got a time stamp?

It was installed two days ago
at 10:31 p.m.

That's right before Armstrong
was killed.

That's gotta be a connection.

Okay, this is weird.

The bug is only monitoring
game ports.

But Armstrong doesn't have
any games on his computer.

There's nothing to monitor.

Maybe they weren't after him.

Yeah, I play video games.
What's the big deal?

You buy any using
Corporal Armstrong's credit card?

Um...

I may have used the card to pay

for the last few weeks
of my subscription to "Fear Tower 3."

I mean, like I said,
he owed me money.

Does this have something to do
with his murder?

Someone was bugging the game ports
on Corporal Armstrong's computer.

But he didn't play games.
Wasn't his thing.

Yeah, we know that.

You think someone
was trying to bug me

and because I use Zack's Visa,
the trace led back to him instead?

- I know it sounds kind of crazy.
No.

Actually, it doesn't.

Two days ago, I was at home,
playing "Fear Tower" on my laptop,

having a kick-ass game.

Broke my all-time points record.
And then I hit a kill screen.

Ouch. That hurts.

Kill screen?

It's kind of like a Y2K bug
for video games.

Sometimes
if a player gets too high a score,

game can't handle it and it crashes.

The last screen you see
is called the kill screen.

The weirdest I've ever seen.
- Weird how?

Almost looked
like some sort of encrypted data.

I got a ton of screen-grabs
I can show you.

- When was this?
- Ten thirty p.m. On the dot.

Less than one minute later, someone
bugged Armstrong's computer.

So Armstrong is dead
because she won a video game?

So this is "Fear Tower 3"?

And these are screen-grabs
from Maxine's last game.

It's not exactly "Pong," huh?

"Pong"?

Well, the important point is,
at 10:30 p.m.,

Maxine got such a high score
that the game crashed,

dumping her into a kill screen.

Now, this isn't exactly
your grandfather's kill screen.

It exposed some kind of encrypted data
hidden in the game.

Killer thought Corporal Armstrong
was doing the exposing.

Then somehow figured out
his mistake. Went after Maxine.

So, what's it say?

Abby is working on it.
But the more pressing question is...

How did the data get
in the game in the first place?

And I have the answers.

Where's Martin?

Uh, picking up Gibbs'
forensic accountant.

Thanks again for that, boss.

I spoke to the CEO at L9 Games,

the company
that makes "Fear Tower 3."

They have quite a facility.
I mean, like, pool tables and saunas,

and employees
who are very focused on their work.

Like this man, Reed Snyder.

The CEO said he was the lead
programmer for "Fear Tower 3."

If there was anything hidden
in the game code,

- Snyder would know about it.
- Bring him in.

He disappeared two days ago.

Bank statements.

I got the BOLO. Will alert
local airports and bus stations.

Okay, got something here, boss.

Several large wire transfers
to Snyder's bank account.

You recognize something?

Yeah, I do.

Agah Bayar?

Why is a video game designer
getting money from an arms dealer?

You must be Agent Gibbs.

So nice to finally meet you.

May I call you Jethro?

Agent Gibbs it is then.

- You know him?
- No.

You wired him
a hundred thousand dollars.

Now you mention it, yes.
We do have some business together.

You're an arms dealer.
And he makes video games.

What kind of business?

I commissioned him to...
To create a video game.

To showcase some of
my more, uh, exotic merchandise.

Totally legitimate, wouldn't you say,
Agent Gibbs?

Mm-hm.
- You see, I like games.

Yes, I can see that.

- Are we done?
- No, sit down.

I must say,
you're much more imposing in person

than your dossier leads one
to believe.

And a lot grayer.

Do you know where he is?

No, I don't.

- But it seems like you don't either.
- Been missing for two days.

You should keep better tabs
on your investment.

- A hundred G's is a lot of money.
- Forgive me...

...if I don't take business advice
from a government employee.

- Where did you get those?
- Government employee.

- Look familiar?
- No.

But if you give me a copy,
I can help you decipher it.

I only need one thing from you.

Shoot, as they say.

Where were you two days ago?

I was in Veracruz.

A guest of the governor.

Am I correct to assume
that means we're done here?

State Department confirms it, boss.

His whole entourage was in Veracruz
for two weeks. It must be nice.

It is nice.
Still no word on Snyder's whereabouts.

We found interesting stuff
in his background

that explains Bayar's interest in him.

- Define interesting.
- Reed Snyder, age 29.

He was born on a small farm in Idaho.
Homeschooled by his parents.

Until he ran away to the big city
where he taught himself

how to do whatever the voodoo
is you do, McGee.

Worked as a computer programmer.

DoD's had their eye on Snyder
for a while.

He's suspected of hacking Pentagon
and selling classified information.

Hacking the Pentagon.

They should lock him up
and throw away the key.

Why haven't they?

- Crossword puzzles.
- Yep.

- We don't really understand it either.
- Look, it's simple.

During World War II, the allies hid
secret codes in crossword puzzles.

To thousands of regular readers,
it would look like another puzzle.

- If you had the decryption key...
- You could read the code.

DoD thinks Snyder's been putting
encrypted secrets in video games.

- Which are mass-distributed.
- All right.

I get it now, McSmarty Pants,
when he puts it like that.

He didn't say it like that. I get it.

All Snyder has to do
is sell the harmless decryption key

and then buyers can access
the data themselves, right?

- Buyers like Agah Bayar.
Right.

So, what's inside "Fear Tower 3"
that would interest an arms dealer?

Well, you name it.

Data on arms shipments.
Satellite codes.

Whatever it is, hitting the kill screen
accidentally exposed it.

And Snyder killed to keep it a secret.

What is he doing now?

I'm not sure I follow.

- You kill the zombie...
- And then you kill their brains.

Wouldn't hypovolemic shock render
the second step unnecessary?

Oh, no. Because when you shoot
a zombie in the head,

sometimes the brains sneak out
through the hole.

And then you have
to kill that separately.

I see. I think.
Or maybe I'd rather not.

I'd rather you did.
I need some answers.

Well, I've been going over the evidence
from Mr. Snyder's house,

hoping to find some clue
to his current whereabouts.

- What do you got?
On the outside,

a normal productive individual.

- But on the inside...
- Bad things.

I'm sure Dr. Mallard
will elaborate for us.

Mr. Snyder
is a very disturbed individual.

His choice of game design
notwithstanding.

Take this, his diary or manifesto.

It's a rambling call for revolution

against modern society's
technological-industrial systems.

- Our computer guy?
Yeah.

Who seems to favor old-fashioned
board games in his personal life.

Like this one from World War II.

Fingerprint analysis shows
that he preferred to play

for the Axis powers.

Oh, yeah,
this man had no love of country.

And he appears
to be removing himself from it.

Found all this stuff in the trash.

He hadn't packed anything,
but I can't escape the feeling

that he is going someplace.

Perhaps because he is.

With the help
of Martin's forensic accountant,

we were able to trace
the money Snyder received

from his wire transfers.

He purchased a home recently.

- In Morocco.
- Interesting.

You gotta find him
before he gets there.

We may already have.

The BOLO came back on his car.

So when I said quietly...

The door was rusted shut, all right?

Snyder could be anywhere.

Wow, abandoned power plants
are creepy.

It's not a power plant.
It's a pumped storage facility.

- It stores energy in the form of...
- What? Are you talking to me?

Not anymore.

When this is over, you gonna ask
Maxine out on a date or what?

- Nope.
- Still hiding behind your horoscope?

Who said I was hiding?

The guy who's been working with you
for the last seven years.

I think I'd like sarcastic Tony back now,
please.

Well, he's not here right now.
Just wise, insightful Tony.

And he thinks you've got more
on your mind than just a horoscope.

But there's taking it easy

and then there's being a dumb-ass,
which is kind of my strong suit.

But you like this girl.
She seems to like you.

What more do you need to know?

Well, I'll think about it.

Don't think too long. Life's short.

Just ask this guy.

We found our missing programmer.

Abdominal distention
suggests that the time of death

was roughly three days ago.

However, this...

Yeah. Well, this slightly increases
the estimate.

A mature rove beetle.

They don't appear
until at least the fourth day.

He was already dead when
Corporal Armstrong was murdered.

Yes, which rules him out
as your killer.

A killer that's been quite busy.

Both he and Armstrong
have identical mutilations.

I believe the same person
is responsible for both.

Armstrong was a mistake.
This guy wasn't.

Espionage is a dangerous game.

If you wanna find out
why this man is dead,

perhaps you need to find out
what he was selling.

Found it.
And you are not going to like it.

What am I looking at?
It's executable code.

Snyder wasn't selling secrets
that he had.

He was selling
his actual hacking program.

Like a locksmith
selling his lock-picking tools.

These tools enable the buyer
to gain access

to the Pentagon's
most secure mainframe.

Theoretically.
I mean, the good news

is that even
with Snyder's hacking program,

it would take a computer, like,
millions of years

to crack the Pentagon's defenses.

How long would it take
a million computers?

Gibbs, you're a genius.
It's called distributive computing.

If this is downloaded
onto millions of computers, then...

Snyder would have
enough combined processing power

- to crack the Pentagon wide-open.
- Or Agah Bayar.

Anyone who bought an unlock code

is gonna have access
to top-secret information.

This could make Wikileaks look like
a little tiny dripping faucet.

You have to call the Pentagon, Gibbs.
Now.

What?

I think there's already someone there
that knows.

I took the liberty
of accessing your security logs.

You knew about the hacks coming out
of NCIS a long time ago,

but you never reported it.

- I'm here now, aren't I?
- Yeah, we noticed.

Puts you in a position to keep tabs

on the investigation
into Corporal Armstrong's murder.

Why on Earth would I do that?

- So you'd know when to run.
- Ah.

You swept the NCIS hacks
under the carpet

because they made you look bad.

But you couldn't ignore
what Snyder was doing.

If the Pentagon knew
how badly they could be hacked...

You'd be looking
for a new billion-dollar contract.

So you tracked Snyder down,
you chased him into an old utility plant

and you killed him.

Have you lost your mind?

I'll bet you did
when Maxine triggered the kill screen.

- It looked like another attack.
- Which you tracked to Armstrong.

Only he didn't know a thing.

Even after you nearly tore off
his arms and legs

in an enhanced interrogation.

I gotta tell you, that's a great story.

You know, it would be even better
if you had any evidence.

Yeah, we got your fingerprints
on the hot dog cart.

Next time,
you may wanna dump the evidence

before you stop for a bite.

Do you know how many enemies
are trying to destroy our way of life?

You're doing a good job of that
by yourself.

Pentagon computers are still
at risk. You killed Snyder for nothing.

No one could get enough evidence
to nail him.

- Yet.
- Well, I wasn't willing to wait.

We got enough, boss.

Enough?

You don't have my fingerprints.

No.

But we just got your confession.

So all this time, Martin was
eavesdropping on our conversation.

That's how he learned
about Maxine.

Luckily, she's still alive.

- Which means she's, um...
- Sorry, can't do.

I've got a major security hole
at the Pentagon

that needs help plugging.

It might be too late for that.

Bring Gibbs to my lab, now.

Abby.
Snyder built an insurance policy

into his hacking program.

Insurance policy for what?

Well, every week, he needed
to enter a code into the system.

It's like a dead-man's switch.

If he didn't, then "Fear Tower 3"
would go Armageddon.

What does that mean?

Snyder's hacker program
would disable

all the Department of Defense firewalls
and erase...

- Erase what?
- Erase everything.

Any military computer on the grid
would be wiped clean.

Yeah, it's on, Gibbs.

The program, it's already launched.

Shut it down.

Gibbs, "Fear Tower 3"
is installed on 15 million computers.

You can't stop them all.

Maybe we don't have to.

Snyder's gotta have a mainframe
somewhere to coordinate the attack.

I can try to shut it down from MTAC.

We also need
to find its physical location

and try shutting it down directly.

Well, then it's a good thing
I already found it.

Snyder did not come here
to hide from Martin.

On his way to his hideout.
- We're in.

Where are we going?

I'm accessing the facility map
on Snyder's mainframe.

Mapping your location
and your destination.

There should be a corridor
in front of you. And move fast.

We've got three minutes
and 40 seconds left.

I'm not having luck shutting
his mainframe down from here.

There is nothing.

Three minutes, 30 seconds.

Not according to Snyder's map.

Hey, this is hollow.

Find something to wedge it, Ziva.
We can...

Or we can do that.

McGee.

Boss, I think you just tripped
the security system.

Well, untrip it.

McGee, is there a reset button
you can hit?

Tony, this is not
a video game, okay?

Three minutes remaining.

Maybe we should just wait
for the bomb squad.

It looks like the place
is booby-trapped.

I got no time, McGee.
Get me through this.

Fifth firewall breached.

I could try. Uh, go video.

Two minutes, 30 seconds remaining.

Okay, the safest route should be...

Wait, boss! Get out of there!

- Where am I going, McGee?
- I don't know.

McGee!

Fourth firewall breached.

Talk to me!

It is a video game.

Two minutes remaining.

Okay.

All right, continue straight, boss,
until I say. Make that right turn.

There you go.

Continue straight.

Something is wrong. It's too quiet.

All right, boss, a left turn up ahead.

Take that left.
Walk straight for about 20 yards.

Boss!

One minute, 30 seconds remaining.

Boss, are you okay? Boss?

Boss, can you hear me? Boss?

Third firewall breached.

Can you hear me?

Hey, McGee, you missed one.

Sorry about that.

All right. It'll be coming up soon.

Snyder's mainframe
should be around the next corner.

One minute remaining.

I'm getting interference on the visual.
Wait, boss. That's gotta be it.

I hate computers.

Second firewall breached.

Boss? Boss, what's happening?

I lost visual.

Thirty seconds remaining.

Boss, are you okay?
What's going on?

I cut all the power. It's still going.

Okay, it must have
an internal battery backup.

- A what?
- Could also be booby-trapped.

Boss, now we're gonna have
to shut down the computer

using the unit's command line.

Ten, nine, eight...

- Now listen to me very carefully.
seven, six...

Boss, what's happening?
Talk to me.

Boss?

Boss, what's happening?

Are you okay? Can you hear me?

Game over.

Two...

I would have liked
to see Gibbs shoot that computer.

Well, if I don't get his e-mail working,
you may get a second chance.

I almost shot Tony last night.
We were stuck for almost three hours

before the firemen
were able to open up the fire doors.

And you loved every second of it.

Hi.

Tony said you weren't gonna be
at my debriefing.

- Uh, he did?
- Yeah,

but he passed along your message.

Eight o'clock works great.

See you then.

And thank you.

Laser tag.

You have a date.

You didn't.

Eh... Yes, I did.

Thanks, Tony.

Don't mention it.

- McGee! I hate this thing, McGee!
- Don't! Don't shoot!