Original subtitles

Previously on NCIS Sydney.

AFP have made a P -35 request.

What's a P -35?

Hard copy application.

No more lies.

My name is Rashid Ramati and I have evidence of an American war crime.

Orders from a man they call Ghost walked through the rubble, executing the

survivors. I used one of the Australians' body cams to record it. I

Marine Corps tried to end you. There's folks out there.

looking for any excuse to finish what they started.

The target, whoever the ghost was working for, was covering the track.

Thank you.

You've reached Travis Riggs. Please leave a message.

Beep.

Yes, she's right here.

Yeah.

Good for you. Sounds important.

Thank you.

Early bird eats the worm.

Not that you eat worm or have worm.

Okay. Sorry, you wanted to see me? Yeah, I want to get your application up to

AFP today, get it sorted.

Trouble is, I can't seem to find your tertiary qualifications.

Ah, ye olde tertiary qualifications.

Yeah, I thought I was looking in the wrong section, but your Bachelor of

Science, your Computer Science degree, your PhD in IT and Forensic Science.

I just need the certified copies.

Yeah.

Okay.

Judy, you know how you said for me to be...

For accurate and honest?

Yeah. Yeah.

Well, I have been.

Right.

Right.

So, in regards to your qualifications for your role at NCIS, you have?

Zero.

Zero.

I mean, it's not like I didn't do the work. I did, you know. I got straight

I won the university medal twice. You did? Yeah, just for other people.

Why would you do that, Blue? I don't know. They offered to pay me.

Kiddo, what are you... Back on the books here, Blue?

Yeah, book adjacent. Just crossing the T's and dotting the I's. Okay, it'll

to wait. We've got a situation at a movie theatre.

We'll pick this up later, yeah?

Yeah.

What's the holdup with Lou?

You know what the AFP application process is like?

No, that's why I'm asking. Well, it's a long application.

It's like War and Peace long. Have you read it?

War and Peace? No.

Lou's application?

Yeah, of course.

And?

And... Well, it's a cracker.

She's been super thorough.

And honest.

It's your fault.

Okay, good.

The sooner we get it sorted, the sooner we can find a forever home for your

stray Bond tech.

Yes, if you're wondering about the aroma, let me introduce Lieutenant Felix

Ibrahimi.

Besides what he ate for dinner, what do we know?

Naval attaché based out of the U .S. consulate at Sydney.

Cleaners found him this morning.

Last seen alive by the usher at the 10 p .m. screening last night.

That fits with rigor mortis. The old boy's starting to stiffen up.

Who brings popcorn into the stall?

Yeah, lids down, pants up.

What does that tell us?

He wasn't dropping the kids off at the pool, was he?

So what's the next most popular reason to visit a public toilet?

Anonymous sex.

Quick on the draw there, Rosie.

How about the next most popular?

Drug deal gone bad?

Beats being murdered for popcorn.

Wasn't even his popcorn according to the movie usher. He only sold two tickets

that session.

One to our dead attache and one to the dude that came late. Guy that bought the

popcorn. So popcorn guy murders the attache?

Maybe. But there was a third man.

You said only two tickets were sold.

Because the third man snuck into the movie without paying.

The third man could be a player in all this, too. I swear to God, Dee, you say

third man one more time. Oh, come on, Evie.

Seriously? The third man sneaking into a noir movie?

Did the usher get us an ID on either?

Yeah. Sure. Thank you.

Okay, here's his description of the first guy.

Olive -skinned, male, kind of old.

Want to hear his take on the second guy?

Yeah. Olive -skinned, male, kind of old.

Useful.

Okay, right. Just call me if anything changes. Thanks.

What do you got, Doc? Ooh, salted caramel.

You want to buy it?

Uh, well...

The first stab wound punctured your attache's heart, likely what killed him.

then, of course, you kill her. He didn't stop there, did he?

So, after killing him, he gutted him like a fish. And the question is why.

Boss, you're not going to believe this. So, check Felix's file.

NCIS had a 7N investigation into him.

7N? That's narcotics. Popped up on his friend's social six months ago.

Felix was a U .S. Naval attache. How does he still have a job? Because NCIS

cleared him.

Someone's getting fired?

Felix had top -level clearances vetted three ways to Sunday. The photos are

fake. You know that.

So who faked it?

Why? Well, his family fled to the U .S. 40 years ago.

I'd start there.

But you knew that, too.

You want to tell me why you're really here?

Here.

Someone's having a bad day.

Who am I looking at?

I was hoping you could tell me.

We're thinking he's American.

Call sign ghost.

Any idea what he was after?

Two things.

An SD card with footage of a rocket strike on an Afghan village hosting a

heroin.

And the second?

I watched him expertly nick a woman's femoral artery to break up his tail.

Led me into a kill box.

The guy was hunting me.

Scroll on.

It's a kill list.

I need a name.

Asking about someone like this is likely to send up a few flares.

I've made a copy of the SD card.

I need you to make it clear that anything happens to me, the footage goes

Strong play, Agent Maggie.

I hope you know what you're doing.

There were four fingerprints found on the box of popcorn.

The usher, Felix, and two others.

One was a partial, no hits. But the last one pinged on a biometric database for

Sydney Airport.

Say hello to Ali Azad.

Arrived in town on Tuesday.

Let's talk to him.

It's going to be tough.

Ali hasn't been seen at the hotel since the day of the murder.

Sounds like he's gone to ground.

I'll see you to join us.

What's Ali doing in the country?

He's living with his daughter, Rana Azad.

An up -and -coming chess bowler.

This is live.

Wait, you have a live chess feed on your phone?

New low for you?

Ron is playing in the Oscillation International Chess Championship.

She's playing in Sydney?

Currently smoking out all the old grandmasters.

Her dad's a coach and a famous chess composer.

Chess composer?

People who create chess problems.

Dad's the coach.

He's going to be there.

What are you waiting for? Go.

Now, a piece of the blade snapped off and became lodged in his ribs.

That indicates a knife of some sort.

Now, have a look.

So if you find the damaged knife, could you match it?

Don't look at me.

You need a forensic expert for that level of detail.

You know, someone with a PhD in forensic science, for example. OK, Rosie, we get

the point. Well, I mean, I could take a punt.

But I'd just be talking out the back of my ass because I'm not a forensic

scientist. You done?

Not quite.

The x -rays did show something lodged in his esophagus, and that's why I called

you in.

Great.

Hang on.

Oh, come on.

Voila!

A pawn.

That's a career first for me.

My guess is he tried to swallow it and, well, choke made.

Wow.

Odd last meal.

Well, hang on.

USB.

Career first for all of us.

So Felix wasn't killed for drugs. He was killed for this.

What's up?

Hanging around, waiting to get fired.

You?

Hanging around, hoping nothing techy comes across my desk.

Trigger? Need you to open the files on this USB.

Uh, no worries.

Sorry, to interrupt, I'm just reminding you that that laptop is connected to the

NCIS server.

True. Making us vulnerable to a malware attack.

Also very true.

No, so you need to plug that USB into an air -gapped fire -walled device to

safely verify its contents.

Yes.

Like this one.

So... Yep.

Think you can crack that?

No problemo, yeah.

Yeah, no, I got nothing.

Any advice for Trigger Blue?

Yeah, yeah, this is easy. Okay, so assuming that they've used a password

encryption, you could try a brute force attack.

That sounds like my alley. But if they've used a form of block or stream

encryption and assuming they... Now might be a good time to cross those

Actually, you should just forget about the brute force attack and go straight

a linear cryptanalysis. Hey, um... Sorry.

So it's not going to be official, but whatever is on that drive is critical.

Now, we wouldn't be able to pay you or anything.

Me? Are you kidding? I would pay you to get through this.

Great.

Yeah.

Sorry. All good.

Here's our God.

Who knew there were this many chess fans?

It's a popular sport.

Slow your roll, Myron.

In what world is chess a sport?

Uh, it's called this world.

These guys are supreme athletes.

And Ronda's one of the best.

Can you see Ellie anywhere?

Nope.

This kind of coach doesn't show up to his daughter's match.

They're kind to put a knife in her attaché.

Unbelievable.

She's got him in the Zoom Swing.

It's got to hurt.

Zoom Swing, endgame time.

Look, she can't move a piece without losing.

Whichever way he goes, he's done.

Someone's chucking a tanty? No, he's resigning.

We tip over your king and you can see defeat.

Run interference.

I'll talk to her. Why you?

Because Myron speaks chess.

What are you having?

When I win, a lot of chocolate bar.

Oh, you must be a mountain of it. You're putting the Grandmaster into a zook

zwang. Go you.

He underestimated me. Yeah, I bet he won't make that mistake again.

He won't get to.

Your dad's your coach, isn't he?

I didn't see him around.

He had business.

Uh, what's he do?

He worked with computers for the government.

It was nice to meet you.

Hey, sorry, I don't mean to bother you. Do you mind if I have your autograph?

Uh, Constable Evie Cooper, Australian Federal Police.

You with the embassy?

Consulate. Yetigo Tsar Media Liaison Representative.

Well, you got a good news story with that Rana kid, huh?

Zugzwanging the Grand Maestro like that? Are you in the championship?

No, uh, I'm just a big fan of the game.

Chase bad guys for a living.

I'm kind of a cop.

In my country, sometimes cops are the bad guys.

What's back is right.

It's a little different here, kid.

Look.

To Sean Jackson.

Just in case you run into any real bad guys.

I really dig your game, kid.

What interested it to you?

I live in Breccia. It's the best boat in the world. Ladies and gentlemen...

Keep up the good work. Excuse me.

You need to get ready for the finals, Rana.

Let's go.

So I had Trigger run an image search on Felix, and these photos from a Sydney

protest two weeks ago came up.

What's a US government employee doing in an anti -regime rally?

What are they protesting?

Death of a woman, Mariam Jafari.

Protesters claimed it was a government -sanctioned beating.

Their government claims it was a car accident.

I got into the porn.

She means... Yes. I know what she means.

OK, well, the first folder, anyway. The second one used a super -sophisticated

encryption key, which I will soon out -sophisticate.

What's the first folder give us?

This porn star.

Hassan Saberi, a Sydney dentist.

So Hassan and Felix did the same protest.

Really? What are the odds?

And why is the identity of a dentist worth filling for?

I had a dream about my teeth last night.

They all fell out.

That's an anxiety dream.

What would I be anxious about?

Your teeth falling out, pretty sure.

So have you let him know yet?

Trigger? Take that as a no.

It's not that easy, Mecca.

When it comes to broken biscuits, you can't just chuck them out.

And just so I'm clear, Trigger is a broken biscuit?

Yeah, I knew you'd get it. I really don't. Yeah, you do.

He went through a rough patch, but beneath everything... Like his total

utility?

Sure. And his unwillingness to demonstrate any kind of initiative?

Yeah, granted. And his refusal to respect any vague chain of command?

Well, he is Australian, Macca, so you can give him that one.

Look, you want him gone, just say the word.

Sorry to keep you waiting.

Come in.

We'd like to ask some questions about Felix Ebrahimi.

I do not know this man.

Take another look.

I'm afraid not.

What is this about?

Felix was murdered yesterday.

Your contact details are on his person.

Why do you think that is?

Perhaps a patient recommended me. Was it my business card?

Yeah, not quite.

An encrypted USB was found lodged in his throat.

Why did you lie about knowing Felix?

I can't help if you won't let me, Hassan.

You... You can't help.

Try me.

Ali Azad.

Felix met with him and now he's dead.

What can you tell us about Ali?

I can't.

If the regime finds out I'm speaking to you... The man is dead, Hassan.

Exactly.

Rumor within my community is that Ali Azad is an agent of the regime.

If I talk to you, what happened to Felix could happen to me.

Yo, Evie, check it out.

I was digging deeper into Ali and I found this.

and the opposition are claiming foul play.

They are using her death for political gain.

I ask you not to support them.

Mariam Jafari is Ali's wife.

And Rana's mom.

So did she die in an accident? Or was she beaten to death?

The USB is loaded up with layers upon layers of encryption with, I'm assuming,

independent KMS keys, which is going to take some time.

What else have you got?

Felix's white Christmas.

We dug up some metadata from the photos of Felix racking up and compared it to

the metadata from the first encrypted folder.

They're a match.

Meaning?

Meaning... they're the same?

The same computer that created the files on the USB created the fake photos of

Felix doing drugs. They're from the same source.

How can you be sure?

Several matching data points, including the longitude and latitude of the

computer. Where?

Um, somewhere within this neighborhood. Now, word around Hackertown is that that

is the location for their disinformation center.

Which is?

The regime's elite hacker group, experts in disinformation.

So Felix was a target of his former country.

The regime was trying to discredit him. And according to our friendly

neighborhood dentist, Ali is regime.

Maybe Ali is our killer. I don't know about that.

Rana seemed a little cagey when her dad didn't show up at her game today.

You think she knows more than she's letting on.

So what are you waiting for?

Loser buys the winner an ice cream.

White goes first.

You know that much at least. I got some moves, kid.

Better bring your rain game.

I'm scared.

Duncan tells me you don't scare easily.

I know what really happened to your mom.

Really sorry, kid.

My mother died in a car accident.

That's the government line.

You know, because you got no choice but to tow it.

What do you want?

Yesterday, your dad met an American naval officer, Felix Ebrahimi.

Thing is, Felix is now dead.

I don't believe you.

Why would I lie?

Look, folks think your dad killed Felix.

My father is the kindest man.

You would never hurt him.

If he wasn't there to hurt him, maybe you should have given him something.

I wasn't there. I know.

I think you know.

Look what was on that USB.

Why was it worth killing for?

Please, Rana, I need to speak to your dad.

I don't know where he is.

Stop towing with you, Rana.

There are lots more people who'd like to play.

Wait, my time's load up.

Checkmate.

It is now.

Oh, you and ice cream.

And other times I have.

Uh, your A game, it needs work.

You should come by and watch me in the finals. You might learn something.

That was the regional security office at the embassy. The last job in Felix's in

-tray was a visa application.

Two, in fact.

Let me guess. Rana and Ali Azad.

So Felix starts to organize a visa to the States for a member of the regime's

hacker group.

Why?

Okay, maybe Ali doesn't want to be hacker group anymore.

Because the regime killed his wife.

He wants political asylum.

And you don't kill the guy, he's going to give it to you.

So if Ali didn't kill Felix, then who did?

Well, isn't it obvious?

The third man.

Great.

I'll put a bolo out for Orson Welles.

Who'd that have to get him?

It's the ambassador.

Damn. How do you know that so fast?

You've got the internet, Myron.

So you've got the consular staff, you've got the ambassador, and still dad's a

double no -show.

Okay, so if the regime has Ali, what happens if Rana loses?

G4. She's playing the grob.

Who names these things?

Only the rookies play the grob.

It's like a joke opening. You know, people play it online when they're not

trying to take the game too seriously.

Bishop G2?

Well, it added a chess component. You know, there's got to be some logic.

Pawn to a3.

Pawn to h3.

Then you have bishop captures d5.

Look, I know I'm new to this, but it looks like she's losing.

No, she ain't losing.

She's playing a different game altogether.

Freckles!

Someone!

I'm made. It's made. It's blurred.

Blue, I need you to take that down.

Yep.

G4, BG2, NA3, H3, BX, D5.

Is this chess?

Because, Sean, we're playing chess.

My gut says wrong moves are the decryption key to the USB.

Oh. Oh, I'll put them in now.

Nope. No happiness.

I'll try them lowercase.

Nope. Try doing an arse about.

With what?

Write it backwards.

Old bomb maker trick.

Oh my god, we're in.

So all these guys are dissidents?

If you believe their public profiles, but surprise, surprise, they're all

courtesy of our friends at the Hacker Group.

They're cover identities for their government operatives stationed all over

world.

So who could be posing as a dissident in this country?

Bring up a science file.

Ardentith is the third man.

Allie was blowing the lead on an international firing.

Sean.

Sean, help!

Move! Move!

Sean! Move!

Sean says they've grabbed Rana. We need to move fast.

I found the car.

Still warm.

You two take the front.

Yeah,

don't forget to blow

Please, you need to know how these people work.

They don't want Rana, they want me.

You're safe now.

But Rana is not.

You need to contact the consulate.

Tell them I will hand myself in if they release her.

They will kill you, Ali.

I made a promise to Mariam to give Rana the future she could never have.

Please.

This is the only way.

We don't swap Wally.

We swap him.

What do you say, indeed?

We hand Hassan over to them? He killed Felix.

And it's probably not the only blood on his hands. He should spend the rest of

his life rotting in a supermax.

What's the alternative?

Rana will be holed up in a consulate right now. Within an hour, she'll be on

plane back home.

Hassan killed Lieutenant Felix Ebrahimi. I want to see him go down for that. I

do.

But Felix died trying to give Rana and her dad a better life.

Ask yourself, what would Felix want us to do right now?

How do we even broker a deal like that?

We can't just get an audience with the ambassador.

We don't need the ambassador.

We need a liaison.

Where is?

Son, remember this face.

Vote for the U .S. consulate.

They're fast -tracking asylum for Ali and Rana.

Good news for American chess.

How's it hanging?

Blue, I... I'm going to stop you right there.

Excuse me?

I know what you're going to say.

You're going to say that trust is a big deal and I breached yours.

So if you can find me a cardboard box, I'll...

clear out my things, and I'll get out of your lair.

Okay, no cardboard boxes, fine. I'll just show myself out.

Or... you could just get back to work.

What?

Welcome back, kiddo.

Wait, what? How... How is it even possible I am utterly unqualified?

Well, not where it counts.

JD went to AFP and found a way to keep you.

What did you call it?

Special dispensation for hours accrued.

Thank you.

Rosie!

I can sing.

Yeah.

Make yourself useful.

He's all yours.

Hey.

With me.

Go.

What do you think?

I wasn't sure if you were a DeWalt or a Makita guy.

Well, I can go either way.

Good.

Now earn your keep.

Yes, ma 'am.

There he is.

I was getting worried you'd steal me up.

Ah, last minute dentist appointment.

Sounds like torture.

Yeah, you don't know the half of it.

So, to what do I owe the pleasure?

So I pulled some strings.

Your broken bicky will remain firmly inside the NCIS cookie jar. Mate, that

unreal.

It triggers a good egg.

You'll see.

I already have, mate.

I've got a favour to ask in return.

Still got mates in admissions?

Just between us, eh?