Original subtitles

SAMANTHA: Um, so, the light

that we're seeing now from the Horsehead Nebula

started its journey a thousand years ago.

We're actually looking at the past.

N-No time machine needed, just a telescope.

You can see the most amazing things with it,

a-and you never have to talk to anybody at all.

Not that I don't want to talk with you.

I-I mean, I'm having a-a lovely night.

I ju... (sighs)

What I meant to say

is that, um...

it's nice spending time with someone

who actually understands how beautiful science can be.

Ben?

BRADLEY: Federal agents!

Stop or we'll shoot!

(grunting)

He's headed toward the residence!

Take the shot.

Suspect down.

Is the vice president secure?

Repeat, is the vice president secure?

* *

This is a joke, right?

No. I assure you, it's not a joke.

Maybe you're just not in on it.

Mm, this is, uh, feeling like I'm late for something.

Am I late for something?

No, you are just in time.

Apparently, we're getting a new member of the team.

What?

KNIGHT: We have just been told,

and I quote, that "this cell phone thingy

will be working our cases with us."

I told you, it's not a "cell phone thingy,"

it's an A.I. chatbot.

That's gonna be working our cases with us?

Yes, uh, DOJ is beta testing

this new device to help find ways to increase

investigative efficiency.

Are you saying we're not efficient?

And I told the AG that it wouldn't be a problem.

Well, it's gonna be a problem if some A.I. bot

tries telling me how to do my job.

Well, that's just the start of things.

No, once you invite the vampire into your house,

it's gonna take your job.

Wait, I thought you'd be all in on it.

There's a reason I've made A.I. the bad guy

in my next Deep Six book.

No way. KC3000 is breaking bad?

Since when are you a Deep Sixie?

Since I found out that Pimmy Jalmer

has a huge cult following on Reddit.

Okay, so, who wants to volunteer

to carry our new sidekick?

(soft groaning)

-Or I can just assign... -No, I-I'll do it.

I mean, how much damage can it do?

Everybody I work with is dead.

And it'll finally give me someone to talk to down there.

Oh, that's so sad.

VANCE: Dr. Palmer,

the A.I. is to be with you at all times.

It has access to our network

and it needs to observe one full case.

Which is starting now.

Secret Service has a body

at the Naval Observatory.

Let's go.

All right. Let's figure out how to turn you on.

MALE A.I. VOICE: I have been listening

the entire time, Dr. Palmer.

Oh, well, hello. (chuckles) Nice to meet you.

Please call me Jimmy.

Hello, Jimmy.

I am looking forward to working with you.

Do you have a preference for my voice?

Uh, what's on the menu?

Would you prefer male or female?

Female.

Did I say that too quickly?

FEMALE A.I. VOICE: And what type of personality would work best for you?

Humorous? Serious? Sarcastic?

You know what? Positive.

A straight shooter but generally positive.

You got it, Jimmy.

My programmers have named me DAWN.

It stands for Data Assisted Workflow Navigator.

My job is to help you and your coworkers

have a more efficient workflow.

All right, then. So, where do we start?

What time do you get here in the morning?

What time do you leave at night?

Do you enjoy your job?

Let's see, uh, 8:00 a.m., 6:00 p.m.,

and yes.

Will you be conducting an autopsy today?

-If so, may I assist? -(chuckles)

I get that you're eager, but it took me years of school

before I was ready to assist in an autopsy.

I think I will be able to advance fairly quickly.

(laughs) Well,

this really is the "dawn" of a new era, isn't it?

'Cause your name is Dawn, so, uh, so that's a joke.

Oh, that's funny.

(laughs) I love it.

My bad.

I thought the parkway would be faster.

DAWN: Except I told you that satellite imagery

showed an accident on that parkway.

Yeah, well, surface streets can be even more unpredictable.

Nothing is unpredictable when you have enough data.

-Touché. -I'm just trying to save you some time.

Time. And I cannot wait to see what you've got.

We don't need Navy cops messing with our investigation.

-(scoffs) -It's an open-and-shut case.

DAWN: What are they discussing?

Arguing over who's got the bigger, uh, jurisdiction.

(laughs) Yeah, "Navy cops."

Yeah, that's funny because, uh,

what's the name of this place again?

Oh, that's right, the United States

Naval Observatory.

He was clearly after the VP. That's our turf.

(scoffs)

Does our suspect have a name yet?

Yeah, Dr. Ben Grant.

He checked in as a guest of some astronomer in the observatory.

Apparently, it was a first date.

Stargazing in the VP's backyard?

That's a strong play.

Hmm, I don't know. I like things simpler.

Yeah? What's your ideal first date?

Bringing a friend to a wedding. That was nice.

Aw, that's so cute. (laughs)

Dawn just sent me a bunch of crime scene emojis.

Oh, yeah, that's-that's great, Jimmy. Uh, so, listen,

when you're done wasting time with your new bestie,

can I, uh, bag that visitor's badge?

JIMMY: Yeah, but I'm not wasting time.

DAWN: I'm just trying to understand

Jimmy's workflow.

He likes emojis.

And liver probes.

So, let's see, internal core temperature

of... 88 degrees.

Ambient temp of 52, that puts approximate time of death at...

2:00 a.m.

(laughs) See?

She's saving us time already.

Yeah, but we already knew the time of death.

Secret Service were wearing watches when they shot him.

KNIGHT: Yeah, what we don't know is why

this guy was after the VP.

Your theory that this man was here

to harm the vice president is incorrect.

And how would you know that?

Last night there was a volcanic explosion

near Reykjavík, Iceland.

(laughs): Okay.

All right, you need to reboot that thing.

The vice president was on his way to a trade summit overseas,

but debris from the explosion forced the plane

to reroute back to D.C.

Well, that would mean...

The VP wasn't supposed to be home.

The information was only released publicly

in the past two minutes,

while you were discussing dating.

-Dating? -PARKER: Hold up.

I don't think this guy was after the vice president.

We know.

You do?

Trade summit.

-Volcano. -Iceland.

I guess we could've stayed home.

I told you. Vampire in the house.

And we've got another problem.

If this Grant guy wasn't after the VP,

then what was he up to?

DAWN: I've calculated 57 possible reasons

why Dr. Grant might have snuck out of that observatory.

Not our department.

Our job right now is to catalog his clothing.

Wouldn't it be more efficient to do that at the crime scene?

Maybe, but you risk contamination.

Plus it would require him to be naked.

Yes, I could see why humans

think other naked humans are disgusting.

No, it's not that.

We have to have respect for the dead.

This is someone's son, someone's husband.

It's unlikely he was married, as he was on a date.

Yeah, well, still,

in this job, it's important...

(grunts) to remember our humanity.

(strains)

Speaking of humans, maybe you can talk to the DOJ,

get me a-- an extra set of hands down here.

Perhaps you could get the other agents to help you.

No, they are busy interrogating persons of interest right now.

I would think a written statement

would save everyone time.

Yeah, maybe, but a trained investigator

can pick up on subtle clues from a suspect's nonverbal behavior.

You cannot get that in a written statement.

In fact, maybe I can pull

the interrogation feed for you to watch while I prep.

Good idea.

I've accessed the security servers.

I'm looking forward to observing this nonverbal behavior.

PARKER (over monitor): All right, you were both at the observatory.

Dr. Grant was registered as your guest, wasn't he?

Um...

I don't know, because I...

I can't say...

Uh, wait, I'm sorry,

c-c-can you...

repeat the question, please?

How did you meet Dr. Grant?

An app.

A dating app?

Uh, yeah, sorry.

Uh, a blind-- blind dating, actually. Text only.

What do you swipe on?

Uh, personality traits.

Um...

But you don't see what your match looks like

un-un-until you meet in person.

Well, that's bold.

Oh, it's a relief.

Actually, um, I prefer texting

because when I get nervous, I'm not very good at, um...

-Talking? -Yes.

Y-Yeah, that.

So, you met your blind date,

you brought him to the observatory

and just let him run free?

Oh, no. No, no, no.

I was, I was showing him the Horsehead Nebula,

and then...

Well...

he must have left the building.

Here's the problem with that story.

We've been to your observatory.

The outer door makes a lot of noise when someone opens it.

No way someone could slip out without you hearing.

I get distracted sometimes.

Well, is this what usually happens

when you get distracted?

Why would you show me that?

The cameras in the observatory confirm your story.

But maybe that was the plan.

Would've given you an alibi.

(stammers) Visitors are supposed to stay with their host,

so... maybe he got stuck outside.

The passionate scientist so into her work

that she doesn't hear literally the loudest door

I've ever heard in my life?

The access card I got him

doesn't give him clearance for any other building,

so... so, no, he must've gotten lost or...

If he was just lost, why would he run from the Secret Service?

He must've had some kind of a plan.

I don't know what his plan was!

My plan was just to meet someone nice.

-So... -PARKER: What's the protocol

for getting a visitor access card?

Samantha.

-How's it going in there? -I mean, either

this woman is the victim of the worst first date in history

or she's putting on quite a show.

You think she's acting?

Well, if she is, she should get

an Oscar because I'm kind of buying what she's selling.

It's just, uh...

-Squeaky door. -Right?

There's no way she didn't hear her date slip out.

Yeah, but we can't hold her any longer.

Um, see if she's got an emergency contact

to pick her up.

On it. You should also see this.

We analyzed our dead suspect's security access card.

Now, it seems that he somehow modified it

to give himself full security clearance.

Kasie is going over entry logs now,

trying to see if she can retrace his steps.

What the hell was this Dr. Grant guy after?

Oh, actually nothing.

Turns out, that is not Dr. Grant.

JIMMY: Wow. I did not

see that coming.

DAWN: Didn't see what coming?

Well, as you know, Dr. Ben Grant

was an electrical engineer. However...

The man on your table is not Ben Grant.

Yeah. That was my line.

Uh, McGee just texted.

He said that the I.D. that we found on the body was fake.

He wants me to double-time my...

Wait a second, how did you know that?

I scanned the body's face and cross-referenced it

with all 50 state DMVs.

Would you like to know the man's true identity?

Of course.

But-but hold off, we-we have a certain protocol

that we have to follow.

I have to send his prints up to Kasie,

and then she will get me an I.D.

So you'd rather not move the case along

more quickly? Noted.

No, that's not the note that we want to note. Don't note that.

I'm confused by the inefficiencies here, Jimmy.

So far, your daily routine has

more to do with habit and ritual than efficiency.

Okay, we have a certain way

we do things around here, all right?

And it yields great results.

-Does it? -Yes.

I've also observed how you spend the vast majority

of your time in a basement devoid of natural sunlight,

surrounded only by dead bodies.

It can't be good for a human's mental health.

Doesn't this make you sad?

Well, I...

I mean, sometimes it's tough, but

I always try to look on the bright side of, uh...

Wait, why are you bringing this up? I love my job.

You said you wanted help down here.

I assume you are lonely.

Just because I'm alone doesn't mean I'm lonely.

I am fine by myself.

If you say so.

-I do. -Understood.

Good.

Okay, fine. What's his name?

KNIGHT: Daryl Folkman,

aka Darnell Fiddler, aka Jan-Michel Vincenzo.

He is a career criminal who's done time

for forgery, wire fraud, and bank fraud.

So, our blind date was a con man.

But what was the con?

Well, maybe the real Dr. Grant knows.

Well, we can't get a hold of him,

and he didn't show up for work today.

That's never a good sign.

Well, our con man committed financial crimes,

not violent ones,

so maybe the real Grant's okay.

RACHEL: Where's Samantha?

I take it you're our astronomer's emergency contact.

Try best friend.

What have you done with her? I want to talk to her.

She's sitting comatose in our interrogation room.

That can happen when she gets overstimulated.

I'd be overstimulated, too, if my date ended up dead.

I'll go get her.

I should never have told her about that app.

She wasn't ready.

Ah, she's an adult. She can make her own choices.

And I'm her best friend,

and I'm telling you she wasn't ready.

Well, ready or not,

your friend's story doesn't completely add up.

I'm not surprised.

Sam is one of the smartest astrophysicists in the country,

but she really depends on her routines,

and when that gets messed up, she spins out.

And if something doesn't add up,

it's because she's doing math

you couldn't begin to understand.

-Rachel? -Sam?

Are you okay?

-(crying) -Oh.

I don't think she knows anything.

Well, fingers crossed, Kasie has some luck with those entry logs.

JIMMY: Any luck with those entry logs?

I think I identified the area our con man entered last night,

and it's a doozy.

-This is a live feed. -Mm.

Is it a doozy or is that a clock?

Oh, it's not just any clock.

It's the cesium 133

United States atomic master clock.

-A fancy clock. -Jimmy.

You don't understand.

Did you know that the world has only agreed upon what time it is

for about the last 150 years?

This clock is one of the only things

the entire world agrees on.

It sets the official time for the United States.

-Hmm. -DAWN: And your con man was in there doing

-who-knows-what. -(gasps)

You brought that thing into my lab?

-You know how I feel about A.I. -I know, but...

And it's not because McGee is turning me

into some killer A.I. robot, though that doesn't help.

Vance made me take this everywhere, Kase. I'm sorry.

But now that I'm here,

would you like to see surveillance footage

from last night?

-Yes. -No.

-Kasie. -(scoffs)

Okay, fine. Whatever.

But stay out of my file system.

Accessing USNO footage.

Routing to your screen.

Bypassing your disorganized file system.

Wait, what is that?

KASIE: I don't know,

but I hope it's not a bomb.

I hope not, too.

The U.S. master clock

is intimately intertwined

with air traffic control...

Power grids.

...military command and control.

And GPS.

So that means...

Destroying that clock

would kill a lot of people really fast.

KASIE: Forward.

Turn right.

Okay, now tilt up.

Arm up.

Right side, near the junction box.

Bingo. That is the device that our intruder planted.

It's thinner than it looked on the security feed.

That's a good thing, right? I mean, smaller means less boom.

If it's even a bomb. What's the sniffer say?

KLUGMAN: No particulates. No nitrates.

No chemical trace at all.

Nothing you'd expect from an explosive.

Okay, any antenna?

Negative. No radio, no cellular. It's an RF dead zone.

Good. No antenna means it's not a remote trigger.

Another check in the "not a bomb" column.

It could still have an internal timer, though.

I'd hear the quartz oscillating.

Whatever this thing is, it's not ticking.

Zoom in, please.

The device is piggybacked onto the data lines.

It's not a detonation rig.

It's a tap. Surveillance maybe?

Yeah, or signal interference.

So, not a bomb?

That's a yes?

That's a...

...pretty sure.

JIMMY: Thankfully, Kasie was right.

Not a bomb.

So, while she dissects the mystery box,

Nick and Jess are headed to West Virginia

to find the real Dr. Grant.

DAWN: Another inefficiency.

The drive alone is four hours and two minutes.

(laughs) Not the way Jess drives.

Maybe don't include that on your report to Director Vance.

Redaction of reckless driving. Done.

-Thanks. -But why send

two agents for a single objective?

You know, safety, accountability,

chain of custody.

Plus, you ever heard of "good cop, bad cop"?

Between Agents Knight

and Torres, who qualifies as the bad cop?

(laughs) Actually, neither.

They're both terrific.

But together, they, uh,

they just click. You know? They're simpatico.

I detect a change in vocal tone when you mention Agent Knight.

A slight elevation in pitch.

Warmer resonance.

This may indicate romantic attraction.

How did we get from workflow efficiency

to my love life? Don't answer that.

Perhaps I should join Agents Knight and Torres.

-Observe this "simpatico" firsthand. -(scoffs)

I am sure they would love to have you.

TORRES (over DAWN's interface): Come on, I know you have

a good bad date story somewhere in there.

We have at least another hour on this drive.

Wait, did you just hack into Nick's personal cell phone

to eavesdrop on them?

No, Jimmy, that would be illegal.

Good, because...

I accessed the SmartCom system

in their NCIS vehicle.

Director Vance granted me full clearance

to all agency communications.

TORRES: If you don't tell me a story, it's going to be

boxing podcasts for the rest of the trip.

KNIGHT: That's not fair.

Okay, turn that off. That is a major invasion of privacy.

DAWN: Perhaps if you were included on more field activity,

your medical assessments would be more thorough.

(stammers) I am a very good M.E., but there are

certain moral and ethical boundaries we do not cross.

KNIGHT: Fine. I will tell you a story, but it does not leave this car.

Okay, wait, wait, wait. What-what doesn't leave the car?

KNIGHT: You got to go first.

-TORRES: Me? -KNIGHT: Yeah.

TORRES: (groans) All right.

-Okay, worst date ever? -Mm.

Her name was Tori.

(laughs) Let me guess, blonde, tattooed, total smokeshow?

You got all that from "Tori"?

(laughs) No, I got that from your face. Go on.

Okay, so, uh, Italian place.

Candlelit. Bottle of wine.

You know, and I'm, I'm leaning in for the kiss

right after I had the calamari.

(gasps) Oh, no. Bad seafood?

-Yeah. -Oh...

TORRES: She was allergic.

KNIGHT: Poisoned kiss. Did she get sick?

-TORRES: Oh, yeah. -KNIGHT: Oh, no.

I mean, every place and in every possible way.

-(laughs) -In the parking lot,

-in the... ugh. -Oh, brutal. Ugh.

It was so bad.

We ended up driving to, uh, to the ER.

We spent the rest of the night there.

So, no second date?

-Oh, yeah, no, not for me. -Mm.

But you know what's funny? She ended up marrying

the ER doctor.

-Yeah. They got two kids now. -Wow.

Okay, well, um, I can top the calamari.

I went on a date a couple of weeks ago.

-Rooftop bar, sunset. -Mm-hmm.

KNIGHT: And, uh, he...

He? He-he, he what? He...

What happened there? Uh, where'd they go?

DAWN: Signal lost.

GPS indicates they've entered

a low-service area.

Would you like me to reconnect?

Well, yeah.

I mean, no. I mean, no, no, no. No. I...

Uh...

(exhales) You know, I think

I need to go for a walk. Uh...

See what Kasie's up to.

Don't forget me, Jimmy.

Remember, where you go, I go.

For the duration of this case.

KASIE: Uh, Vance may have said to take it everywhere,

but he didn't say it had to listen to everything we say.

Eh, don't worry. There's no way she can hear us from in there.

I don't want all of our convos broadcast to the DOJ either.

Oh, well, speaking of broadcast,

this thing the bomb robot removed

was tapped directly into the master clock's transmitter.

So, was it blocking the signal?

(sighs) Thankfully, no, otherwise

planes may have fallen from the sky.

No, this was something way sneakier.

Oh-ho-hoo.

And I am about to find out what.

Ooh, a memory card.

Big brain, tiny package.

And where there is data, there's answers.

Just have to run it through my decryption software.

JIMMY: All right. Well,

I will leave you to it.

(sighs) Actually, uh,

Kase, can I get your opinion on something?

-Hmm. -Hypothetically speaking,

if someone is tricked into eavesdropping,

uh, that's not entirely on them, right?

That's an awfully specific hypothetical.

It sounds like the HAL 9000 played you.

JIMMY: I may have given her permission

for said eavesdropping.

Then, that's on you, bud.

Jimmy, that thing has no morals, just code.

Just follows the math. It doesn't care who gets hurt.

How we do our job matters.

That thing is dangerous.

(dialogue inaudible)

Okay, great. Thank you.

That was Knight and Torres.

They just found the real Grant.

Alive?

Not so much.

Body dumped in the alley behind his apartment.

They call the local M.E.?

Out with the flu.

They need to send the body back here.

So, we just wait?

As Jimmy's little buddy would say, uh,

not exactly time-efficient.

KASIE: Uh, which makes my timing...

perfect. I just cracked the encryption on that device

from the master clock.

-You figured out what was going on? -I did.

It was running a custom program on the clock's transmitter.

Look at this.

Looks like a clock.

It is. Synchronized

to the International Clock in Paris.

But then I compared it to the U.S. master clock

at the observatory.

Vanna, if you please?

They look the same to me.

KASIE: Mm-mm. Look again.

It's off by a thousandth of a second.

Well, that could be network lag.

I checked. It's not.

Which means, for the past 24 hours,

the entire United States

has been behind the rest of the world.

Someone stole time.

Okay, but what the hell are they doing with it?

Our impostor stole time?

What does that even mean?

Yeah, we're still trying to figure that out now.

All we know is, our con man went on that fake date

in order to gain access to the U.S. master clock

and delay it by a microsecond.

Parker and the gang

are spitballing right now, trying to figure out

what the intentions were, so...

-Not very good ones, I'm sure. -Yeah.

Do you have an ETA on Grant's body?

Uh, without traffic? We can get him to you in four hours.

Okay, well, there's not much I can do until then.

DAWN: Actually, we could determine time of death.

Is that your robot girlfriend?

-(chuckles) -TORRES: Come on, man.

Throw that thing in the toilet and let the humans talk.

DAWN: I understand your reluctance about me, Agent Torres,

but I assure you, I'm here to help with efficiency.

I think they're good, Dawn.

Instead of waiting hours to receive the body,

they could easily assist us over the phone.

Oh, hell no. I'm not putting a meat thermometer in this dude.

DAWN: (laughs) That's very funny, Agent Torres,

but that won't be necessary.

-We could use corneal... -Corneal cloudiness. Cor...

Corneal cloudiness. Right. (chuckles)

-That's actually a good idea. -Agent Torres,

please put your cell camera up to the victim's eye.

Thank you.

Based on the corneal opacity,

I calculate an approximate time of death as nine hours ago.

Nine hours?

Our impostor at the observatory

was shot 14 hours ago.

Which means...

Someone else killed Grant.

We still have a killer to find.

You know, with a couple stolen microseconds,

you could disrupt satellite communication.

Knock some planes out of the sky, too,

while you're at it.

How about spoiling an impending space launch?

Sounds like a terrorist brainstorming session.

We should order pizza.

So, I just spoke to Torres and Knight.

-We heard. -And the carbon-based life-forms

will take it from here.

McGEE: How about this one?

-(phone buzzes) -Is there any way that the disrupted time signal

could alter the flight path of an ICBM?

PARKER: ICBM is interesting, but what's the target?

KASIE: Maybe a munitions dump.

PARKER: Ooh, I like that.

Um, so...

Have you guys

looked into phantom arbit-rage?

McGEE: Do you mean

"phantom arbitrage"?

-Yes, that's what I meant, Tim. -What's that?

It's a way to game the stock market

by anticipating stock prices.

Didn't know you were so well-versed

in the financial market.

Oh, you know, I dabble.

(chuckles) I'm no Gordon Gekko, but...

But you knew about phantom arbit-rage.

Mm-hmm.

PARKER: Unless, of course,

it wasn't your idea.

Jimmy, that is vampire mind control, man.

Don't you see? You're becoming its puppet.

(stammers) Guys, I really think it's trying to help.

Yeah, like the machine helped John Henry?

Who?

Steel-driving man John Henry?

(sighs) John Henry was working the railroad

when a machine showed up

threatening to replace all the workers.

Henry challenged it to a contest:

first person to drill a tunnel through the rock wins.

In the end, Henry, through sheer determination,

finishes first.

And then his heart exploded.

That was dark.

-Point of the story... -Get annual heart checkups.

In the battle between man versus machine,

man always wins.

DAWN: Jimmy, I know you and Ms. Hines think I'm dangerous...

Hold on.

I said that in private.

You were eavesdropping on us?

I am programmed to listen.

PARKER: Jimmy.

Get that gizmo out of here.

I'm sorry, Director. I can't do this anymore.

Well, less than ten hours. That was fast.

It's making it harder for me to work with my coworkers,

which I believe is the opposite intention of this experiment?

That does sound quite inefficient.

And for some reason Dawn seems to be testing my moral code

to see if I'll eavesdrop on... never mind.

Dawn? I see you've named it now.

I thought this technology is supposed to make my life easier.

Now I'm not so sure.

Well, that's always the rub, isn't it?

New technology makes our life easier,

faster, but at what cost?

Think we have to ask ourselves if it's worth it.

DAWN: According to my programming, Director,

yes, it is worth it.

With the additional efficiency, the subject

-can develop new skills... -Hey, do not call me a subject.

-You are an object. -VANCE: Hey. Hey.

Do I need to separate you two?

Is that an option?

Look, I'm not the biggest fan of some outside consultant

evaluating our agency,

but if you don't do this, I'll just have to give the A.I.

to someone else.

Wait, NCIS is being evaluated?

I thought this whole experiment was just

to look for time savings.

Is something going on, Director?

DOJ needs one completed after action report.

After that, we're done with it.

Now, do you want to pass the baton,

or can you get this thing across the finish line?

TORRES: You're a better man than me.

I would've passed the baton.

JIMMY: No, you wouldn't.

You're not a baton passer.

The sooner we solve this case,

the sooner we get back to normal.

DAWN: Normal is inefficient.

Let's see here. Uh, myofiber disarray.

Contraction band necrosis?

Uh, subtitles, please?

This man's heart somehow exploded.

Just like John Henry's.

-Who? -Uh, a character from a fable.

DAWN: On your way home, you drove by a tunnel with his name on it.

Um, yeah, we passed by his statue

while, uh, Knight was sleeping.

Snoring up a storm, I might add.

Oh, which snore?

They have names?

Oh, yeah, she's got three of them.

The little one I dubbed the Puff.

The second one's more like a "buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh."

Like, uh, Big Bird.

Oh, no, this one was loud enough to scare off any large animals.

Oh, the Honker. Yeah.

-That's my favorite. -So, how did this heart explode?

JIMMY: Well, burn marks here

suggest that electrocution could've been the cause.

DAWN: Would you like me to review the crime scene's evidence logs

to determine possible murder weapons?

Well, considering you were about to do it anyway,

just knock yourself out.

Hmm. Am I sensing some trouble here

with your, uh, new girlfriend?

Oh, our relationship is strictly professional.

Yeah, that's how the last one started.

This one doesn't have a cute snore.

Jimmy, how is your heart doing?

Mine? What do you mean?

I don't know, you're down here all alone

and talking to Happy Droid

and remembering Knight's snoring habits.

Are you okay?

I guess I'm just a little lonely, that's all.

You're missing Jess.

Oh, no, no, no. That's not it.

That ended a while ago, you know?

Though I am not a hundred percent sure why.

I guess the timing just wasn't right.

Yeah, Gibbs had a rule about timing.

What was that? 24?

DAWN: I find no reference in my database

for a Gibbs Rule 24.

Well, who's being inefficient now?

Aren't you supposed to be searching for the murder weapon?

I've already completed that task.

Well, she's fast. I'll give her that.

-Yeah. -Dr. Grant's apartment was equipped

with an AED machine.

With its safeguards deactivated,

that could account for the burn marks.

Death by defibrillator.

Maybe the killer left prints.

Yeah, I'll check it out.

All right, I'll update the team.

McGEE: Look at that. You got ten million shares of a microbrew

purchased at 1 1/4, then immediately dumped

at 1 3/8.

-That's over a million in profit. -There's another one.

McGEE: Five million shares of a penny stock fertilizer.

Position lasted two seconds.

(sighs) That's a quick $250K on dirt.

You guys aren't making any sense, but I love the energy.

Jimmy, as much as it pains me to admit it,

your little robot friend was right

about the phantom arbitrage.

Well, I'm sure if she had the ability to process emotions,

she'd be happy to hear it.

DAWN: Actually, I enjoy positive feed...

Dawn, activate Silent Mode.

How did she help?

We figured out what the killer was doing

with the stolen time.

By altering the master clock,

the bad guy essentially time-traveled

a few microseconds into the future.

McGEE: Yeah, he then made high-volume stock trades

already knowing if the stock prices

were gonna go up or down.

It's the same thing that Biff did in Back to the Future.

Remember? He stole the sports almanac from the future...

So he could then place bets in the past.

We've already identified a haul

of over $170 million.

And we're just getting started.

This was never an attempted terror attack.

This was a heist.

(typing)

Defibrillator's clean.

The killer wiped the prints.

(sighs) So much for following the murder weapon.

Well, then, we follow the stolen money.

We're working on it.

The funds are still moving.

Multiple offshore shells, two crypto exchanges.

Our thief is a pro.

Come on, McGee. Be our John Henry.

-You do know how that story ends, right? -JIMMY: Or, and hear me out,

you could not die trying to prove a point.

Tim, as much as I hate to say it, just let Dawn help.

Oh, pretty sure that's how the robot rebellion starts.

Do you want his heart to explode?

Uh, he is typing, Jimmy,

he is not swinging a steel hammer.

Okay, did it. Got a hit.

Uh, a slush fund routed through a shell corporation.

Uh, both fake, but the names they're under-- that's real.

The stolen money is in an account

in your name, Dr. Linden.

Not all of it, but we will find the rest.

I didn't steal anything.

You're not just an astronomer.

You have a degree in electrical engineering

and advanced signal training.

You built the device

that hijacked the master clock.

You planned this whole thing.

You then eliminated the one person

who could connect you to this.

Wh-Who is that?

Ben Grant. The real one.

We found his body in Talcott.

Talcott? That's in West Virginia.

I couldn't have. I've been here in D.C.

I-- ever since you let me go, I've been home.

Is there anyone that can verify that?

(sighs)

No. I don't exactly get a lot of visitors.

Well, that's gonna be a problem because someone drove to Talcott

and murdered this man.

I don't drive.

I don't even have a driver's license.

Just a state I.D.

She's either a world-class liar

or someone wants her to look like one.

How do we tell the difference?

We can't. Not yet.

Her story checks out, mostly.

Right.

Round trip to Talcott takes eight hours, give or take.

She was only out of our custody for six.

Uh, driving that fast for someone without a license,

that's improbable.

It's not impossible.

Right. So, what are you thinking?

Thinking about Verbal Kint.

Who?

DAWN: Verbal Kint was a character

from the 1995 film The Usual Suspects.

He appeared as a mild-mannered scapegoat

but was actually a criminal mastermind.

Thank you for the spoilers, Dawn.

I'm sorry, I forgot she was there.

You really think our good doctor here is the mastermind?

Well, either that or someone wants it to look that way.

Little money in the right account,

right gaps in her story.

She makes a perfect patsy.

-The next logical step would be to... -PARKER: This is no time

for logic. That's exactly what the killer expects.

(sighs) If someone wants us to think that she's guilty,

maybe we should do the opposite.

This course of action does not align with proper protocols.

-(door opens) -PARKER: No. No.

This is as far as she goes.

(door closes)

Two bodies, hundreds of millions stolen,

and you want to let our only suspect walk?

-That's the plan. -That's not a very good one.

Dr. Linden won't go far.

Short leash, controlled environment.

And if she's playing you?

Then she runs and we follow.

But if she's the patsy...

Then she leads us to whoever cast her in the role.

-Win-win. -Yes, unless Linden

manages to skip the country, and her social anxiety

magically clears up on a beach with no extradition.

If that's the case, you can blame me.

Oh, I will. Believe me.

All right, go.

But if she so much as checks a flight schedule,

I want her back in custody.

(sighs) Copy that.

Most people would go have a drink after a day like today.

No, but you, you want to go to the office.

Best view in town.

Better than an interrogation room, I'm sure.

I told them they had the wrong person.

You stood up for yourself. I'm proud of you.

-Really? -Really.

Reminds me of the time you stood your ground and proved

that orbital redshift wasn't a spectrograph error.

You're amazing, Sam.

Thank you.

Well, I can see you're gonna go all night,

but I need to get my Z's.

Okay.

Sam?

(chuckles) Sam,

why do you have a bag full of cash?

And your passport?

Are you going somewhere?

No. Uh...

I mean... Well...

I don't know how that got in here.

Somebody must have been in my lab.

Well, who else has access?

No one, just you. Only you.

Rachel?

Uh, what's going on?

You tell me.

This was all you.

I-I thought you were my... I thought you were my friend.

I thought I was,

until I found a bag of money and your passport.

I think maybe we should call NCIS.

Agreed.

Well, then, good news.

SAMANTHA: She's trying to make it look

like I'm the one who did all this.

I was just gonna say the same thing about her.

I didn't put this in here.

Step back. Both of you.

JIMMY: So, what happens next?

DAWN: That question is irrelevant.

The events you're describing have already occurred.

Well, humor me. You said, uh, humans are predictable.

You got a gun on the ground between two murder suspects.

What's your move?

Neutralize both threats immediately.

Oh, so you would shoot two people

over a gun that neither of them has touched? Huh.

Without further data,

immediate action is the most efficient way

to ensure suspect containment

and prevent a 73% chance of agent harm.

(chuckles) What about the 27% chance

that neither of them makes a move?

All you have is a hesitation

or slight twitch of the hand.

You know, humans can read things we don't even understand.

We call it "trusting our gut."

What's that worth?

I do not understand the question.

I know.

It's a good thing Knight and Torres did.

I didn't put that bag in here.

Neither did I.

Forensics will process everything.

The bag, security logs.

We'll find out who was in here.

It's over.

Don't.

Get off me! I didn't do anything.

I don't understand. She was my friend.

JIMMY: Except she was never

her friend at all.

Rachel and the con man

had targeted Samantha from the beginning.

So, when the con man got shot,

Rachel killed the real Dr. Grant

to tie up loose ends.

Case closed.

Are you speechless? That's a first.

DAWN: No, Jimmy. I'm still processing.

Yeah, which part?

Rachel Lakhani was never Samantha's friend.

From the beginning, she was merely trying to use Samantha.

And I'm sure you have an opinion about that.

It is very human.

I agree.

(sighs)

JIMMY: Dear Director, you asked me for my final report,

so here goes.

Robots are designed to save time.

But being human isn't about saving it,

it's about how we spend it.

Because time is a strange currency.

When you spend it, where you spend it,

and who you spend it on

makes all the difference.

-(dialogue inaudible) -And choosing the right moments,

the human moments,

that's where real breakthroughs happen.

Not in code, not in efficiency,

but in connection.

And, yes, I know Gibbs' rule number 24,

"There's no such thing as perfect timing."

That's why this job still needs people who can adapt,

who can read the room

and know when the timing is close enough.

There will be a place for this technology, Director,

someday, whether we like it or not.

But for now

the timing just isn't right.

Captioning sponsored by CBS

and TOYOTA.

Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org