NCIS (2003–…): Season 9, Episode 5 - Safe Harbor - full transcript

Attention, unknown vessel.

You have entered
United States territorial waters.

U.S. Coast Guard agents boarding
for inspection. Respond.

Clear.

Smugglers.

Come all this way just
to run out of gas.

Looks like they decided
to swim the last stretch.

Are we taking bets on the cargo?

What do you think, drugs? Weapons?

Unmarked tramp D.I.W.
off the coast of Norfolk?

Probably a load
of knock-off sunglasses.

United States Coast Guard!

They bailed.

Radio to Skip.

Have them scan the water for anyone who
didn't realize it's ten miles to shore.

Coop, you all right?!

Shots fired on deck.
Man down. Man down!

NCIS Season 9 Episode 05
Safe Harbor 1.0 720p_Dim

Synchro: Gaillots,
Keller & Kujathemas.

Rereading: Bruno & Magic Turtle.

I know that smell.

It's not coming from here.

Not over here either.

Doesn't he know they do not take
the trash out on weekends?

Why does he order the same stinky
take-out from the same stinky place?

Because it's the only place
open on Saturday at 2:00 a.m.

He's working weekends.

Did he call you guys
over the weekend, too?

- Twice.
- Twice.

About work
that we could have done today.

Isn't 16 hours a day enough for him?

Don't get me wrong, I love my work.
I'm just not married to it.

Wait. I think I have a solution.

A pet for Gibbs?

- A new hobby?
- A new woman.

That is the last thing he needs.

- Grab your gear.
- Agent Borin.

Why you're here?

Dead Coast Guard petty officer
on a ship towed into Norfolk Navel Base.

Joint jurisdiction.

- Let's go.
- You heard her.

Move it.

You kept that in your desk, Boss?

You waste not, you want not.

- That's one mystery solved.
- Maybe two.

- What are you talking about?
- A new playmate for Gibbs.

What, Borin and Gibbs?

Yeah, no, not so sure.
They're too similar.

Just means they have
a lot in common.

The running lights were on.

There wasn't much
sign of anything else.

We boarded the ship at 0200.

Coop called out,
but got no response.

We thought the crew had jumped ship.

But then the muzzle flash
came from across the deck.

You get a look at the shooter?

He's your man, Agent Borin.

- You see the killer?
- No, ma'am.

When backup arrived,
and searched the ship, no one.

And nothing on board
but bootleg cosmetics.

- Camouflaged drugs?
- No, checked.

Just creams, moisturizers and soaps.

Put 'em in the right bottle, they can
sell for more per ounce than cocaine.

Perfume scent's
giving the dogs hell.

Ship's contents are being cataloged.

And our missing crew?

No dust on the sea.
No signs of drowning.

Unfortunately.

Thank you, Petty Officer.

I hope you find them.

Coop's wife is going
to ask me who did this.

I'd like to have an answer.

Me, too.

I think Gibbs and Borin
would make a great couple.

Just think of all the fun they'd
have giving each other head slaps.

Head slaps are
not very romantic, Tony.

They can be.

In the right context.

The lifeboat is missing. I think
that's how the crew got off the ship.

Ducky, what do you think?

Gibbs and Borin?

Date mate material?

Given their combined work ethics,
they'd probably never see each other.

Which could be a recipe for the world's
shortest courtship,

or extreme longevity.

So nobody's with me on team Bibbs?

We can change the name.

Why don't you change the subject,
DiNozzo?

At least let him grill you
a steak in his fireplace

while watching black
and white television.

- It's more charming than you'd think.
- I'll pass.

I do have a list of girlfriends
that might make good candidates.

They can't just be good.

Don't worry, they can be bad.

What do you got, McGee?

Found three shells.

Standard NATO rifle cartridges.

Which correspond
to the hits on the body.

One of them was stopped
by the petty officer's armor.

And the other pene...

What is it, Dr. Mallard?

Morse code.

It's SOS.

It's coming from below.

McGee, stay here with the body.

You two, with us.

The sound's coming from here.

Lock handle's been snapped off.

Americans?

Looks like our missing crew's
smuggling more than cosmetics.

We are from Lebanon.

My family and I wish asylum
in the United States.

I am kind of busy, Leon.

I know. That's why I called.
Update.

Family wants asylum.
We want a killer.

Get the latter, forget the former.

There something you want to tell me?

Yes. Under no circumstances is anyone
on that ship to set foot on U.S. soil.

Why?

Because SecNav and the U.S.
State Department says so.

Lebanon's a key U.S. ally
in a very unstable part of the world.

If this family claims
political persecution,

next stop is
a Credible Fear Screening.

Okay, let me guess.

The SecNav doesn't want
any more surprises.

He's had his fair share already?

Or he's looking for a reason
to get more involved in this

and I don't want to give him one.

Find the killer.
Nothing more.

Where is my family?

Why have you separated us?

Standard procedure, Mr. Bawali.

Is that part
of the Immigration Department?

No. We're investigating the murder.

Where were you
when the Coast Guard officer was shot?

Trapped.

The crew locked us away
as we approached the coast.

If you were hidden, and they were just
carrying cosmetics, why'd they fire?

- You will have to ask them.
- Couldn't find them. I found you.

We came here to escape violence,
Agent Gibbs.

I was protesting
an oppressive regime.

They threatened to kill my family.

I realize Muslim refugees do not get a
great deal of sympathy in your country.

That's not true.

We take everybody.

We just have rules
about how they get here.

And then?

- We heard the Coast Guard ship.
- One more time.

You heard the loudspeaker
and then you heard the gunfire?

Sorry. You know what, I just want
to get the chronology of events right.

We were told Coast Guard
would turn us back...

that only if we made land,
could we seek asylum.

- And after that you heard the gunfire?
- That is what I said.

It's lucky none of you got hurt.

Luck?

If my father had not put us at risk,
we would still be in our home.

Now we all must suffer
in a country that hates us.

We are not lucky.

Did you hear the crew use names?

No.

But two were Lebanese.
The third was Egyptian.

- How do you know that?
- Their accents, very distinctive.

I went to the University of Cairo.

Really?

- What was your major?
- Math and computer science.

Your parents must be very proud.

My parents are very scared.

Can you describe the crew members?

I need you to focus, Ms. Bawali.

My name is Mariam.

The crew?

I think there were three.

I do not remember exactly.

We wish only freedom.

Yet you do not allow us to go free.

Why?

Do you have family, Agent David?

Yes.

Then you must know
it is a mother's duty to prote...

What is this?

Fresh food and supplies
for your family.

I know you have been living
on rice and beans.

We don't need charity.

We need freedom.

Lamb.

Potatoes.

You need to feed your family,
Mariam.

You have a good maternal instinct.

Your parents must be proud
of their daughter.

Do you have children, Agent David?

My name is Ziva.

I... had...

a sister, and a brother.

I also had a mother.

"Had"?

They were killed.

I, too,

have lost people I cherished.

We come from troubled lands,
you and I.

You...

- are here now.
- Are we?

Borin wasn't kidding. Her list
of female friends is longer than mine.

You having page envy, Tony?

Let's not get into a measuring contest,
McHunt-and-Peck.

Next name: "Stacy DeGraff".

Double "f".

All right,
she's got a gym membership.

Lives in a nice Georgetown condo.

DIA analyst.

Member of Mensa.

- Let's get to the good stuff.
- And that would be?

More photos,
preferably something on the beach.

Tall.

Six- foot-six.
She come with her own beanstalk?

How's operation G-date going?

Do you have any normal friends?

Turn the page, DiNozzo.
Plenty of babes in those woods.

Just "detect".

She's right.

I've narrowed it down
to three potential candidates.

You talking about our missing crew?

Of course, Boss.

Yeah, I'll be right down,
Dr. Mallard.

Gotta go sign for the body.

We've searched the entire ship.

Found nothing to help ID
our missing crew.

- Lifeboat?
- They're still searching, Boss.

Coast Guard's got air
and surface craft

scouring the entire seaboard
north of Back Bay.

All coastal law enforcement agencies
have been put on alert.

If these guys made it ashore,
we'll find them.

One life meets a tragic end.

Others struggle for a new beginning.

Our family of refugees?

There's an Albanian proverb:

"Fire, water and governments
know nothing of mercy".

Well, their story of oppression
in Lebanon is pretty hard to confirm.

Yes, those responsible
for that oppression

make sure of that.

It's what makes families
like our stowaways

take desperate measures.

Or illegal measures.

You don't trust them?

You know, I spent three years
on a cutter off Miami.

The ones who make it to shore
are usually the ones

- you didn't want as neighbors.
- And why is that?

Because they were willing
to do anything to survive.

Gut tells me
our Swiss Family Robinson

knows more about our crew
than they're saying.

- I just can't prove it.
- Anything we can prove?

Ballistics report from Abby.

The rounds from the body

were fired from an American-made
M16-A4 rifle.

A specially manufactured M16-A4,
from a shipment of weapons we sold to

- the Lebanese government in '09.
- How'd our crew end up with one?

I suspect that is a question
which the SecNav

and Director Vance
would not want you to ask.

- Yeah, Abs?
- Gibbs, can you come to the lab?

Sure.

Be right down.

Welcome to the disenchanted forest,
Gibbs.

What do you got, Abs?

Like, the grossest clue chain ever.

Yeah, which is?

Poop.

Our missing crew, even if they took
everything with them when jumped ship

they would have left behind their

"waste products".

Their human waste.

So, it's usually protocol to empty
a ship's septic tank into the ocean.

So, we had the main
sewage line swabbed.

Who did?
The Coast Guard?

They don't mess around, Gibbs.

Stool samples can carry DNA

but your intestinal bacteria
that helps you break down food

it has DNA of its own.

So, your feces
are almost as unique as a fingerprint.

So you can ID the crew.

No. For that, I'd have to run, like

a hundred separate DNA tests, but...

I can settle for visually determining
the number of unique bacteria.

You'll know how many crew members
were on board.

I personally examined every sample.
You're welcome.

Thank you.
And...

Only fresh samples from the last seven
days contain viable bacteria.

And out of those,
I found only four unique poop profiles.

Our four family members
are the only people

to use the ship's facilities
in the last week.

- There was no crew.
- Which means

not only is the family lying to us

but one of them is our shooter.

- I want to speak to the family.
- How do you even know they're here?

We have our sources
in the State Department.

My organization aids Muslims
trying to seek asylum.

We're trying to seek justice.

Excuse me.

You have no right to restrict this
family's wish to seek political asylum.

Actually, we do.

They're stowaways, Ms....

Hooper. Rebeka.

And they made land
when you towed them into port.

They're still on board the vessel.
Therefore, legally still at sea.

Being a Muslim woman, I know
the discrimination they're facing.

- While I share...
- This has nothing to do

with them being Muslim.

Let's make that very clear.

Do you always let your assistants
interrupt you like this?

This happens to be the Secretary
of the United States Navy.

A member of this family
killed a U.S. serviceman.

Prove it.

Meanwhile,
I'm filing for an injunction tomorrow

then going to the media.

It's a free country.

Only if you're standing on it.

Right, Mr. Secretary?

Right.

- Can I ask you a question, sir?
- What am I doing here?

Helping.

You sure about that?

Well, she's not military
or law enforcement.

That's good.

Maybe we've found our...

- Never mind.
- What?

She's an ordained
New Age High Priestess.

Explains the timeshare in Sedona.

It's Gibbs.

Boss, we've been digging deeper
into our refugee family.

And?

Mariam never mentioned
they also had a daughter.

Had?

Yes. Saraya Bawali.

She was killed during a U.S. bombing
raid on a Hezbollah safe house

in the early 1980s.

Action a lot of Lebanese
people felt was the U.S.

taking sides
over the country's Muslim population.

Does not mean Mariam feels that way.

Ask her.

- We gonna ask what she's lying about?
- No. Ziva is.

Why did you lie to me?

There was no crew, Mariam.

You and your family hid yourselves.

You want help?

You want freedom?

Then stop lying to me.

Let me help you.

Fine. Good-bye.

Wait. Where are you going?

I'm not going anywhere, but you and
your family are going back to Lebanon.

Wait!

What do you want to know?

How you got here.

My husband paid the crew

using our life savings.

They took us
out of the port in Beirut

set the course

then left the ship by lifeboats.

Why did one of you shoot
a Coast Guard officer?

I didn't mean to.

You shot him?

We had been followed
by pirates before.

It was night.

I didn't hear the man on the speaker,
what he was saying.

We had a weapon for protection.

I saw someone climbing aboard
in darkness.

- I fired.
- How many shots did you fire?

Three.

How far away were you?

This far.

This far?

According to the second officer,
the shooter was about 60 feet away.

You weren't even there, were you?

I'm sorry.

You do not know who shot him.

You are a good mother

but a really bad liar.

You cannot

control the truth about your family

no matter how much
that truth may hurt.

Well, boys

our evidence shows
your mom pulled the trigger.

- Our mother did not shoot anyone!
- That's not what she said.

If she confessed,
then you forced it out of her!

Doesn't matter how we got her to say it,
point is, she said it.

How dare you intimidate our mother,
you bitch!

You want to see intimidation, bitch?

- My brother means no ill will.
- He's got an odd way of showing it.

We must respect our mother.

Whatever she told you is the truth.

You're willing to let your mother
take the blame for a murder?

You're never gonna find
the perfect woman for Gibbs.

- How do you know?
- 'Cause he's already found her.

His first wife.

Well, doesn't mean
we can't still try, right?

It's futile.

Kind of like our background checks.

If there was something,
we would have found it.

Found more,
oh ye of little algorithmic faith.

Duly chastised.
Hit me, Timmy.

Got a facial-recognition
match on the father.

It's a photo in the Homeland Security
database

- from 27 years ago.
- He was going by a different name.

Lateef Issam.

Wanted in connection
to a 1984 bombing in Lebanon.

Coffee shop frequented
by U.S. servicemen.

CIA could never find him.
Call Gibbs.

It's going to voice mail.

Same with Tony.

Signal in the ship was wonky.

- Hey, Abby.
- Where's Farid?

Tony's with him below deck. Why?

He's not who he says he is.
You need to get to him quickly.

Since you let your wife
do the shooting

you ought to think about letting her
do the cooking, too.

Smells like
a Bath & Body Works in here.

This is our laundry water.

And I already told you,
I know nothing about the murder.

Stop, Farid!

Stop!

Freeze!

Sure you want to jump?

Lead might weigh you down.

Cannot run away from your past,
Lateef.

It always catches up.

What has happened?

The truth happened.

What part of "keep everybody on
the ship" did you not understand?

He's a wanted terrorist, Leon.
I arrested him.

You could have called first.

But you knew
I'd have you stand down.

Yeah, pretty much.

I think Special Agent Gibbs
made a valid command decision

that while of questionable wisdom,
was absent of malice.

Isn't that right?

See?
All better.

I'll go call the State Department

explain why we chose
to ignore their directive.

I'll do it.

You two get ready to break this guy.

Unless you want me
to referee that, too?

No, sir.

- Bump in the road, Leon.
- It happens.

Depends on who's driving, right?

Who is driving, sir?

I cannot believe Mariam
would lie to protect this man.

Maybe she lied to protect herself.

Speaking of liars,
father Farid was in the Lebanese army.

Mean he knows
how to handle a firearm.

My guys are pulling
everything they can on him.

You find your Gibbs girl yet?

I think so.

- Lisa Cridansky.
- Lisa's perfect.

I just saw her last week.

She's a hiking partner,
stamina of a horse.

- She dyed.
- What?

Her hair.

In all the pictures online,
she's blonde. In yours, she's a redhead.

But this is her natural hair color.
So what?

We were willing to risk it with you,
but it's not a good idea generally.

Don't take this the wrong way

but you smell like the hot cheerleader
in my high school homeroom.

Is that White Diamonds, DiNozzo?

Farid spilled his laundry detergent
all over the place.

I got some on my pants.
I must have missed a spot.

- Is that it?
- No, a little higher.

To your right.

You do it.

Bend over, DiNozzo.

That's really on there.

Can't get that off.

I'm gonna call Abby to see if
she's got something to remove that.

Special Agents Borin and DiNozzo.

Stop doing whatever
it is you're doing.

We were just...

reexamining
that very special bond between

the Navy and the Coast Guard.

Agent David, back to the ship.

Make sure nobody else gets off.

Agent Borin, have your people
put together an escort team.

This cargo is being refueled as we speak
to take the family back to Lebanon.

- What about the father?
- He's not going anywhere.

Do you recognize him?

Your DNA was found
at the crime scene.

Testing has come
a long way in 30 years.

Do you know
how many people died that day?

People die every day.

It doesn't mean I killed them.

Smug son of a bitch.

Space invader.

It's a nice move.
I'm gonna use that.

I'm not your family.

So don't lie to me.

You're not protesting your government,
you're protesting mine.

With bombs.

Someone finally closing in on you?

Forcing you to run here?

- I'm a different man now.
- Are you sure about that?

You sure you're just not holding
a grudge still?

- About what?
- Your daughter.

You blame us for killing her, right?

- You did kill her.
- So that's why you came here, then.

Revenge, right?

I came here to protect my family.

When you killed
that six-year-old girl

and her three-year-old brother
at that cafe, did you ever

think about their family?

I want my family to be free.

I want

whoever killed the United States
Coast Guard Petty Officer.

And that's for starters.

Why do you care so much
about the death of one man?

Just hold on a second.

I'll hold your coffee.

You have the wrong man, Ziva.

No, you have the wrong man.

This journey,

to freedom is nothing but a way for him
to enter this country

by using you and your sons.

I have lived with him for 30 years.

I love him.

Nothing changes that.

- This...
- No.

This changes it.

I don't believe it.

Then you are lying to yourself!

You have to know the truth,
deep down!

You must!

Yet you allow him,

to lie to you.

- To your children.
- I'm protecting my children.

They will resent you for it, Mariam.

Perhaps I had suspicions.

But have you never turned
a blind eye on someone you loved?

Yes.

And it was...

a mistake.

I do not intimidate.

Guess what.

Post-9/11,

the Coast Guard
works for Homeland Security.

Which means we can yank
your family off that boat right now.

But they're not going to America.

They're headed to Gitmo.

What are you proposing?

Confess.

And your family can turn
state's evidence against you.

I cannot confess.

- Why?
- Because I did not shoot anyone!

It was my son.

Rafiq.

He killed the Coast Guard officer.

He refuses to listen to me.

I do not know
what he's capable of anymore.

- That seem too easy to you?
- Only one way to find out.

Interrogate the kid.

On the ship.

Are we clear?

Yes, sir.

That's not laundry detergent.

Tony, take your pants off.

What?

Just take your pants off, now.

All right.
Easy, now.

Let's keep it professional, people.
Move along.

Girl's always looking at me.

Think you can get it out?

Yep.

Maybe I should have been
more specific.

- I'll explain later. I hope.
- Abby will explain later, she hopes.

Ziva's not answering.
Must be below deck with our shooter.

Call base security, McGee. Come on.

DiNozzo, put your pants on.

What will happen to us,
now that you have my husband?

Depends if he cooperates.

Stay!

It's locked, from the other side.

Why would your people do that?

It was not my people.

What are you looking for?

Another way out.

- It's Gibbs.
- Gibbs, put me on speaker.

- Why?
- Because you're all in danger.

- Everyone needs to hear this.
- Put it on speaker.

- Yeah, Abs, you're on.
- It's a trap.

You're headed straight
into a massive terrorist plot.

That residue on Tony's pants?

It was pure glycerin.

Distilled from perfumed soap.

- Glycerin? As in nitroglycerin?
- Of course.

Fight Club. Fincher. Pitt. Soap.

- Stuff blows up.
- Combining glycerin,

plus small amounts of drain cleaner,

and rust remover
also found on the ship.

Which contain sulfuric acid,
nitric acid and phenol.

You add those four together,
and you get TNP.

It's an old-school gunpowder

used in World War I
artillery shells.

- Can't be a very big bomb.
- That's just the detonator.

The bomb
is the 30,000 gallons of fuel,

that we just put
in the ship's gas tank.

- That's not the bad part.
- Get to the bad part.

Our ship in Norfolk,

is docked near two destroyers,
a carrier and three frigates.

They're all loaded down with munitions
for deployment to the Middle East.

This blast and its chain reaction

could take out
half the Norfolk Naval Base.

Are you okay?

What's going on?

It's one of the sons.

- Rafiq.
- Impossible.

Gets worse.

NCIS! Don't move!

The bomb.
Where is the bomb?

A bomb?
Hakim hit me.

I woke up here.

Why would a father lie
about which son is the bad one?

So we'd leave the good one alone
on the ship.

No son of mine could do this!

Mother, it was Hakim!
He had a gun.

I saw him attack one of the guards.
I tried to stop him, but he attacked me.

- Open your eyes!
- Topside's clear, Boss.

McGee's coordinating
a full evac with Naval Security...

- It's coming from below and astern.
- That's the engine room.

- Get them off the ship now.
- Come on, let's go.

- Come on.
- Wait.

I cannot turn a blind eye anymore.

Mariam, it is too late.

There is still a chance for me
to do right by my children.

Put down the wires, Hakim.

Hey, slowly.

Hakim?

Mother...

I can see it with my own eyes.

Yet I cannot believe this is
what you have become.

Not my son.

Go away!

Do you want to be like your father?

He was the only one who ever made sense
of the violence back home.

He told me who is responsible.

And taught me to fight back.

He taught you to kill?

The officer?

Father shot the American officer.

Otherwise they would not have brought
the ship into port.

Kept it here.

But now Father is gone.

So I must finish,

what we started.

Why?

Saraya!

What they did to her!

That was so very long ago.

She was my sister!

She was my daughter!

A daughter who I'll never get
to watch grow.

A daughter who will never
experience her mother's love!

My love!

You and your father are not
the only ones who hurt!

But despite my grief,

I still tried to teach you,

understanding, forgiveness, Hakim,

love.

Love.

How can you forgive those

who deserve to be punished?

Because this punishment,

does not accomplish anything.

It will just take away another child
from another mother,

who loves him.

Son, do not leave me.

Mother!

I'm so sorry.

I'm sorry.

The State Department
and the Lebanese government

have denied any claim to Farid.
They want him to pay.

- The family?
- Mariam and Rafiq

will be granted temporary visas.

Hakim's agreed to give us information
about his father's contacts.

Nicely handled, Director.

I'm not so sure it was, Clayton.

Are we talking as friends now?

We've known each other
for a long time.

- Is there anything I can do for you?
- I don't follow.

To make this easier...
your transition into this job.

You and Gibbs think I'm in over my head?
You think I'm overcompensating?

I think you're having trouble
letting go of bad habits.

This isn't my first rodeo, Leon.

Gibbs isn't my first cowboy.

I'm fine.

Okay.

- But if I wasn't...
- You can always come to me as a friend.

No need.

Perfect.

She's even a Le Cordon Bleu chef.

Is it possible
we've done something right for Gibbs?

What if it upsets
the space-time continuum,

and sends the Earth hurtling
towards the sun?

What's she doing up there?

We found the perfect woman for you.

And we would like you
to ask her out.

Who?

Dusty?

Nice lady.

Great cook.

Did you read that on the screen?

No. I dated her.

- What was wrong with her, Boss?
- Nothing.

- She's perfect.
- Perfect?

- What happened?
- There's nothing more boring

than perfect.

Go home.

Keep your phones on.

Your team thinks you're lonely.

You lonely, Gibbs?

Nope.

Borin.

I'll be right there.

Duty calls.

But, Gibbs,

it has been fun.

Sometimes people do the wrong things
for the right reasons.

People always think
their own reasons are right.

- Especially parents.
- They got perspective.

Parents still make mistakes.

Yeah.

My...

mother...

never told me what kind of a...

man my father was.

Perhaps she thought I was not
strong enough to handle it.

She was just being a mom.

How do you know?

Perspective.

Are you lonely, Gibbs?

You're never alone
when you have kids.

Night, kid.