All language subtitles for NCIS.Los_.Angeles.S11E14.1080p.AMZN_.WEB-DL.DDP5_.1.H.264-T6D

You'd like to have
a relationship with Anna?

If I'd acted differently,

who knows where that could have gone.

Like I said before, I don't
even know where she is now.

Intruder alert!

The Chinese were developing
technology under the guise

- of a Silicon Valley start-up.
- Eric, what can you tell us

about Henrietta Lange?
Hetty?

I think you'll come to find
that I also know a lot of people

in a lot of high places.

This should be
more than enough to prove

that Logic Wide was a front
for Chinese intelligence.

- And you are?
- Katherine Casillas.

Sam Hanna.

Enchanté.

I do it.

I declare myself before you.

Naked and exposed,

biting my fingernails
to the bone.

I'm so terrified
of what you will say.

But that's what's funny,
the thing about time.

It goes so slow

when you're waiting
on someone else.

Tick, tock, says the clock.

Tick, tock.
Tick, tock.

Waiting for my answer.
Tick, tock.

Tick, tock. Waiting for my fate.
That's right,

waiting for my fate
to happen to me

instead of me going out and
seizing it like it was my own,

like I should have,

like I want to,

like I will.

When I finally love

what I see in the mirror,

when I say, "Enough,"

when I free myself

from the shackles of Instagram.

Thank you very much.

Hey, so this is where everybody is.

You guys missed a heck of a show.

She killed it, whoever she was.

I think her name
was Janice... Eckhart.

That's E-C-K-H-A-R-T.

Sorry, uh, big kombucha, tiny bladder.

Does anyone actually know
if somebody's in there?

Did we knock?

Okay. Excuse me.

Come on, man.

This is a family establishment.

There's gonna be kids in here
tomorrow morning for story time.

Look, uh, not to get too personal,

but I really have to go.

So if you could just
pick yourself up, muster up...

♪ NCIS: LA 11x14 ♪
Commitment Issues
Original Air Date on February 16, 2020

== sync, corrected by elderman ==
@elder_man

Okay.

Hey.

- What are you up to?
- Nothing.

Seriously, what are you doing?

Oh, you know, just, uh,
really, nothing.

You're just at work early doing nothing,

putting not-important documents
into the incinerator?

- Hey, are you on your way to work out?
- No.

Are you maybe gonna, like,
grab a bite to eat, or...?

You know, it kind of feels like
you're trying to blow me off.

Oh, I'm so sorry. Does it seem like that?

- Because I am. I definitely am.
- Mm-hmm.

But you are clearly

not taking the hint, so what, pray tell,

what are you doing here so early?

I need a favor.

Gosh. Geez. I, uh...

wish I could help you out, but
I believe my quota for burning

incriminating evidence
is all used up for the day.

Yeah, it's not that kind of favor.

I need you to help me find Anna.

Oh.

I just sent you an Interpol report

about a triple homicide in Barcelona.

Oh, my goodness.

Anna is not one of the victims.
I don't even know

that she's necessarily involved,

but I just want to make sure
that she's okay.

Yeah, of course.

But, Callen, what if I can't find her?

Well, then I'll know I was too late.

Hm.

Hey. Oh.

Top of the morning to you.

I, uh, was just going to the gym.

It's leg day, so I was gonna do squats

and goblet squats

and lunges, reverse lunges,

anything to wake up
those gluteus Maximus-es.

Or is it gluteus maximi?

Eh, never know with the Latin.
Anyway, um...

Oh, was something... Were you in
the middle of something, or...

- No.
- Eh.

- You were.
- It's okay.

- You were.
- It's okay, Eric.

- Oh, this is awkward.
- Well, it doesn't have to be.

And yet...

Do you want to check that?

Uh... Well, I-I do, but I just,
I don't want to be rude

and look at my watch
while the three of us

are clearly in the middle of a moment.

- We weren't having a moment.
- No, not at all.

- Nell and I were having a moment.
- Oh, which you clearly murdered, but...

Oh. Ah. I-I get it now.

Oh, w-well, actually, we do have
a case. Social cues are hard.

- Yeah.
- Um,

so I'm gon... I'm gonna gather the team

and just remember
it's not all about you, Beale.

So I'll meet you up in Ops.

And...
Mondays, am I right?

Wow.

You're not wrong.

What do we got?

Last night at a spoken word
poetry reading in Eagle Rock...

Nice, little spoken word,

- I like it.
- Oh, my... What if all of our cases

started, like, at poetry readings

or cello concerts or something,
just, like, pleasant?

Ooh, wait for it.

A dead body was found in the bathroom.

And we're back.

The victim was Michael Carpenter,

former active duty

naval warfare engineer, now working in

the private sector
as a software engineer.

So what was he working on?

Uh, we're not sure,

but his company
was called Go, Go, Go.

That's a terrible name.

Yeah, bet the boss was a real Bezos.

And that's what we got.

That's it? That's-that's
not a lot to go on, guys.

That's actually the definition
of "Nada mucho."

And yet the Naval Criminal
Investigative Service

has full faith, total blind trust.

Actually, there is this, um,
one other thing.

Sorry, uh, what? Nell, you-you,
uh, going off script here?

'Cause I don't have anything else.

You could say that.
Um, the company Carpenter

was working for is actually funded

by the same Chinese shell corporation

that was backing the company
you were working for

up in San Francisco.

- Hmm.
- Huh.

Um... But, uh, by-by "same

Ch-Chinese shell company,"

do you mean the people

who tried to-to kidnap me
and then tried to murder me?

- That's the one.
- Cool.

Cool.

- Sorry, are you okay?
- Cool. Yeah, I'm fine.

Are you good?
That's...

just a... That's cool. Coincidence.

All righty, um...

Callen and Sam are on their way
to the tech company now.

To see if this one is just as corrupt

and dangerous as the last one.

Yeah, we'll, um, head to the crime scene.

Okay, b-bye. Hope you find something.

Bye, Beale.
Bye.

I'm sorry. I just

found out and I didn't really
know how to tell you,

so I figured I'd just
rip the Band-Aid off.

Well, Miss Penelope Jones,

consider the Band-Aid ripped.

Excuse me, everyone.

I'm Agent Callen, NCIS.
This is my partner,

Agent Hanna.

This is the part where someone
tells us who's in charge here.

You're looking at him.

Well, it's not an office,
but, technically,

- he is in the corner.
- Okay, folks,

why don't you guys give us
the room? Get your vitamin D

and your 10,000 steps in.

Well, this is a
fun way to start a Monday.

Yeah, we're here to talk to you
about one of your employees,

Michael Carpenter.

Ah, yes, the, uh,
the punk who didn't show up

for work this morning.

The software engineer who was murdered

last night.

Mike's dead?

He was strangled
at a bookstore in Eagle Rock.

You know of anyone who
may have had it out for him?

No. No, no, uh...

Wait, Mike's dead?

We're very sorry.

Look, do you think

that what happened to him
could've had something to do

with what he was working on here?

Yeah, no. No.

What exactly is it you do here?

It's, uh, algorithm software.
It's nothing.

No, it's something. You have
offices here in Venice,

funding from a Chinese VC.

Guys, I-I-I don't know what Mike
was into in his own time,

but all we're doing here
is building a search engine.

I'm telling you,

he didn't die because of us.

Hello.

I'm Special Agent Kensi Blye, NCIS,

and, uh, that there is my
partner Detective Marty Deeks,

LAPD.
Hey.

- All right. Carla, Stories Books.
- Nice to meet you.

Uh, were you here last night?

Better believe I was here.

Let me tell you, I suffered
through every second of it.

Mm.

Yeah, I'm sure
it was quite hard. I'm sorry.

I told my boss it was a terrible idea.

Giving those hacks the stage
so that they could

vomit noise about their feelings.

Yeah, no, Carla, we were actually talking

about the murder. The murder
must've been very hard for you.

- It wasn't great.
- Oh...

But you got to understand, I was already

in a pretty foul mood by then.

Uh-huh. Right. Of course.

Um, how would you describe
the crowd last night?

Pretentious hippies with tattoos
in languages they don't speak.

Mm-hmm.

And did anybody stand out to you?

In that flock of sheep?
No.

Do you think, uh,

any of these sheep poets are the ones

that killed, uh, Michael Carpenter?

A big a-no.

And these guys weren't poets.

Let me put it to you straight,

they didn't have an
original thought to save them,

or the cojones to take someone's life.

- No cojones.
- And, uh,

where were you while this poetry reading

and the murder were taking place?

- Me?
- Yeah.

I spent the night working crowd control

to keep things at bay.

Keeping the-the hippies at bay, were you?

Thought that was necessary?

You can never trust a hippie.

I feel like I should be offended
by that, but I'm not.

So you got someone that
can vouch for you, then, Carla?

I mean, I wouldn't trust anyone
who uses a natural deodorant.

But I've got a security tape
that'll prove it.

Can we see it?

Mm-hmm.

This is gonna be fun.

- I don't even...
- I love her.

- What is happening?
- So tell us more about this

search engine you're building.

Oh, it's... honestly,
there's not much to tell.

Why don't you humor us?

How is what you're building any different

from what Google's already doing?

Well, it's, uh... pretty subtle.

We're subtle kind of guys.

And fairly technical.

We love technical.
Tell him, G.

We love technical.

Pretty much our happy place.

Look, it-it's just kind of hard

- to explain in layman's terms.
- What is?

DeChamps.

- This is a surprise.
- Sam. Callen.

Tell me.

What's so hard to explain?

What his business does.

- It's too technical.
- Oh.

- Don't forget subtle.
- Right. Subtle.

Mm. Let me guess.
He called it a search engine.

Ah, the hubris. What,

you didn't want to tell
the federal agents

that your little
search engine is probably

what got Michael Carpenter killed?

So, Miguel, do you want
to tell them or should I?

You're good with me telling them?

If you insist.
Just promise

you'll let me know if
I get anything wrong.

It's good to see you again.

It's good to see you, too, Sam.

You boys ever heard of Project Dragonfly?

Yeah, that was the search engine
that Google was building

for the Chinese government.

"Was" being the operative word.

The software was
designed to be compatible

with China's censorship laws.

Meaning it was built to share
an individual's search data

with the government.

Putting Chinese citizens
at risk for kidnap and torture.

Just because they looked up
the wrong kind of information.

- Yeah, like Tiananmen.
- Or Twitter.

Exactly. People found
out about Dragonfly,

and human rights activists
staged protests around the world.

And eventually,
Google killed the project.

But China doesn't give up that easy.

No, they don't.

Sure they'd love another company
to pick up

where Google left off.

I'm guessing that's where
you come into the picture.

Oh. Hey, there, Miguel.

How we doing so far?

I want to call my lawyer.

- Must be doing pretty damn good.
- Mm-hmm.

Somebody doesn't want to
Go, Go, Go to jail.

I had to.

Hold on a second.

This can't be public knowledge,

otherwise there would be
activists protesting here.

Mm-mm, technically it's not,
but through my DoD connections,

I was able to trace the money
from China to Go, Go, Go...

terrible name, by the way...

and I figured it out.

And you think someone else did, too?

Well, it could explain why
one of the software engineers

was murdered last night.

Well, at the least it's a theory.

Right, Miguel?

Hmm? It's a theory?

Come on.

You got to at least tell us
if we're getting warm.

Look, I haven't done anything illegal,

and my company
hasn't done anything illegal.

Okay?

Hi, Kat?

Hi, hi, it's-it's Miguel.

Yeah. Uh-huh.

What do we have here?

I thought it was leg day.
It was.

Until I found out
the same Chinese corporation

that tried to kill me
has reared its ugly head,

and it suddenly became
an all-encompassing,

everything-must-hurt kind of day.

Thought that might be
the case. Uh, just curious.

About how long have you been,
uh... oh. Wow.

You're gonna blow the wheels
straight off this thing.

Nell, as far as coping
mechanisms are concerned,

I feel like exercising
is a pretty healthy way

of dealing with my stuff right now.

True, true. I mean, some
people in your same position

may be driven to drink.

- Cliché.
- Or turn to drugs.

You've seen me on Dramamine.
It ain't pretty.

Some may hole up in Vegas.

Nell, if there isn't
a cosplay convention going on,

I don't understand the point.
Am I right? I'm right, right?

Right. I'm just not convinced
this whole situation

you have going on here
is the, uh, best option.

I mean, here's an idea.

Maybe you should just get to work.

- Hmm.
- You know, really

help the team out. Nail
these guys to the wall.

Oh, totally.

I totally understand
what you're saying, Nell.

- Do you?
- Uh-huh.

Because I'm pretty sure
you just turned up

the resistance on the bike.

Nell, if I'm able
to have a conversation with you

for this long and not be winded,

I'm not working hard enough.

Right. Yeah, you're absolutely right.

This is totally super healthy.

- See you.
- See you in the ER.

So how are you two doing?

Good.

Good.

Seriously? I haven't seen you
guys for months.

Not much to tell.

You two are a lot more layered
and nuanced

than you give yourselves credit.

Well, there's nothing
layered about me. Or him.

All right.
Well, I didn't want it

to come to this,
but what's going on with him?

Oh, him? He's, uh, trying to commit

to something for once.

Hey, guy?

Are we talking sports team
or, like, a tattoo?

Sports team.

Meaning a girl. Oh, intéressant.

You're good. She's good.

- Oh, she's the best.
- Uh-uh.

Flattery will get you nowhere. Your turn.

What's up with him?

Uh, what's up with me

is we need to get back to this case.
Mm-hmm.

If you're right about
what this company is building,

who do you think killed
Michael Carpenter?

All right, that's a rain check.

And honestly, I hadn't gotten very far.

I just connected the Chinese
money to the tech company

when I heard that you guys
were working the murder case.

Hopped in the car and drove up
here from San Diego.

So a human rights activist group

was able to shut down
Project Dragonfly at Google.

That is no small feat.

Mm. They were organized
and they were vocal. It worked.

How do you think they're gonna feel

when they find out
another company picked up

where Google left off?

Like maybe another protest march
won't cut it.

You think they'd take it as
far as killing somebody

who's working on the project?
No.

But it only takes one bad apple.

Carpenter could have told
someone what he was working on.

Yeah, someone he thought he could trust.

He's right, you know. Miguel.

His search engine may be illegal
here in the U.S.,

but if Go, Go, Go has a license,
which it does,

it's not technically a crime
to build it for China.

That's a pretty thin needle to thread.

Ah. The things people do for money, huh?

So, Carla, just out of curiosity,

how many books do you
think you read a week?

I thought this was
a criminal investigation.

I can't answer
a personal question like that.

Oh, come on, yes, you can.

Just give me a rough estimate.
Give me a guesstimate.

Well, buddy, it depends.

Hmm, tell me.

Four or five a week
and I'm feeling pretty good.

- Okay.
- Allergies are in check,

and there's a new John Oliver
waiting for me back home.

Six or seven, I'm flying.

Maybe the Dodgers are on a streak.

Maybe the McRib is back.

Maybe my estranged daughter

has decided to, uh,
get back in touch. Hmm.

Three or less,

and you know my mother-in-law's in town.

Wow. You were right.

That got very personal very quickly.

Yes, it did.

There. There I am.

Holding down the fort. Just like I said.

You weren't wrong about
the crowd, either.

Yeah. It was a hotbed of stoners, hippies

and CBD enthusiasts.

Disgusting.

Super lucky that you were
there to hold them at bay.

Wait. What's that?

Wait, go back right there.
Go back right there.

Right there.

That's him.

That's Michael Carpenter.

Guy didn't fit the profile.

All right, Carla.
That's enough out of you.

Although in this very specific
and limited circumstance,

you are right.

Mr. Carpenter does not fit in.

What is he doing there?

And who's that girl he's with?

What? I read a lot of crime novels.

- Mm-hmm.
- All right.

Mm-hmm.

- Where's Eric?
- Oh, feeling big feelings.

He's in the gym.

Same people who funded Miguel's start-up

tried to have Eric killed last month.

- Wow. What a small world.
- Mm.

Well, you know, working out's
a healthy way

of processing all that.

Yeah. Just don't tell him
you told me that.

Pinky swear. It's good to see you, Nell.

Good to see you, girl.

So what do we have?

Right. So, Michael Carpenter showed up to

the spoken word event last night
with a woman named Daisy Patel.

Now, Daisy is a dental hygienist by day

and an environmental activist by night.

What does that mean?

Yeah. That was

unnecessarily confusing.
I think I got caught up in,

like, the poetry of it all.

Anyway, she's an environmental activist.

Lots of social media posts,

lots of protests.

A naval officer
turned software engineer

is dating an activist protester?

Mm-hmm.
She's the wrong kind of activist.

But she could've branched out.

Or Daisy could have friends.

All right,
so he tells his girlfriend what

he's working on,
and then she turns around

and tells people she knows
will take issue with it.

And the next thing you know,

you're dead on the floor
of the bookstore bathroom.

Hmm. I guess that's better

than being dead on the floor of
the Burger King bathroom, right?

No? Okay.

Do we know where Daisy is now?

Yes. Uh, Kensi and Deeks
are just about to question her

in the boatshed.

All right.

- Keep us posted.
- Will do.

Daisy Patel.

My partner and I have been reading up

on your Facebook posts,

and it's clear you care
very deeply about the fate

of our planet.

We all should.

This is our home.
And from L.A. to the Amazon,

it's going up in flames.

Yeah, but you're really doing it.

We got you participating
in a climate march in D.C.

You organized a global climate
strike in downtown L.A.

- It looks like you, uh...
- Hold on.

Is that why I'm here?

I thought I was helping you
figure out who killed Michael.

No, you are. And-and we're so
sorry for your loss. But...

But now I'm somehow a suspect

- because I care about the environment?
- But...

we have to ask you a few questions.

Unbelievable.

Daisy, I'm sorry,

but did Michael ever
discuss his work with you?

- No.
- He never talked about

what he was working on?

No.

It was all super confidential.

Nondisclosure agreements and all that.

I just know he was

really proud of the work he was doing.

Michael kept really long hours, but never

complained about it because

he really believed
in what they were building.

He believed in it.

Why?

What was he working on?

We're still trying to figure that out.

- Thank you, Daisy.
- We'll be back.

There is no way Daisy knew
what Michael was up to.

Agreed. If you're that in touch
with the climate crisis,

there's no way you're dating somebody

that gets off on denying
basic human rights

to Chinese citizens.

Yeah, Michael's a real catch.

But if Daisy had nothing
to do with his murder, then...

Who the hell did?

Hey, any luck?

Uh, it doesn't look like the girlfriend

had anything to do with it.

But she did say that
Michael Carpenter was very,

very proud to work on a search engine

for the Chinese government
to spy on its own people.

So there's always that.

I don't think the boss was involved.

He seemed pretty upset when
he found out Michael was dead.

And nobody else knew about it

because they kept the project top secret.

So, who else does that
leave us with as a suspect?

Carla. Super-salty bookstore lady.

She's got to be guilty of something.

I feel like you guys

usually have more by now.

- Oh, thanks.
- Anytime.

- You got something?
- Oh, I definitely have something.

So, you know how all these start-ups have

advisory boards and whatnot?

Turns out we know one of the people

advising Miguel at Go, Go, Go.

Well, well, well.

Did you guys just join,

or are you taking this place
for a test-drive?

Katherine, you know I'd
never join a social club.

Hey, don't knock it till you've tried it.

- The perks are insane.
- It's pretentious.

Waste of money and
a complete waste of time.

Well, how do you really feel about it?

I'm sorry, how do you two
know each other?

NCIS Agent Nicole DeChamps,
this is insurance magnate...

and apparently the most connected person

in the world... Katherine Casillas.

I take it this is not a social call.

- What gave it away?
- You know, it's strange how

our cases keep coming back to you.

It's a small world.

You sit on the board of Go, Go, Go?

That's right.

You know what kind of software
they're building for China?

I'd be a pretty bad
board member if I didn't.

Then you know that one
of their engineers was murdered

last night.
Yes.

I got a call from Miguel
this morning. It's terrible.

Yes, it is.

And the two are probably related.

Not necessarily.

Really? You don't think
Michael Carpenter's death

is connected to the Big Brother
search engine

his company's building for China?

Would you please keep your voice down?

I'm sorry, why would I keep my voice down

if there's nothing to hide?

Don't look at me.

We have the same questions she does.

It's a tragedy that man
lost his life so young.

Full stop.

But I stand by what
the company is building 100%.

- Wow.
- 100%?

Really? Not even... not even 90?

You know, Katherine,
I thought I had a read on you.

Sam...

You're just full of surprises.

I think we're done here.

We'll be in touch.

How you doing there, buddy?

Uh, glycemic levels are a little bit low.

That's probably 'cause you've
been here for a few hours.

Other than that, I'm, uh...

- I'm doing A-okay.
- Great.

Maybe you can help us out with a case.

It's becoming a real whodunit.

As in the hour is late,
it's getting later,

and we still have no idea who done it.
Mm-hmm.

So why don't you get up
and get yourself cleaned up

and meet us up in Ops.

Starting now.

Starting right now.

I'm just, like, not really
in the headspace for it.

All right, you know what?
I've had enough of this.

You stink.

You are being a narcissist

and you are neglecting your job.
Go.

You're right.

I have been neglecting my job.

I have only been thinking of myself.

I do smell.

Get!

Going.

I see what you did right there.

You like that?

Shamelessly cutting
a grown man down to size

with your brutal and untamed honesty?

- Uh-huh.
- Girl.

Yes.

I don't like it.

No?
Doesn't do anything for you?

Tell me to cut my hair and shave.

You cut your hair and go shave.

I freakin' love it.

Well, you definitely meet
all kinds of people in this job.

Amen. Sam?

What? Yeah. Definitely.

What's your deal with her, anyway?

- What, me and Katherine?
- Yeah.

There's no deal, uh, you know...

She knows a lot of people,
helped us with some cases.

- That's it.
- So you say.

What are you talking about?
What is she talking about?

- Cash in that rain check.
- I'm gonna get the car from valet.

But we... We didn't valet.

No kidding.
I'm just saying, in our line of work,

people surprise and
disappoint us every day.

- Yeah, it's part of the deal.
- Exactly.

So why are you taking
this one on the chin?

I'm not gonna walk away
and check on some fake valet.

Look, she's just not who
I thought she was, all right?

End of story.

See? There are layers
behind all that muscle.

All right. Whatever you say.
Can we go get the car now?

- Sure.
- Okay.

Or do you want to go back upstairs and...

- Please.
- Okay.

Well, well, well.

I'd rather not talk
about it, if that's okay.

Talk about what?

Bring me up to speed. What do we got?

Intense drama.

So, Katherine Casillas sits
on the board of Go, Go, Go,

which apparently is building
a search engine for China,

which picks up where
Project Dragonfly left off.

- No.
- Yes.

No.

Yes.

Nell, we've got to trace
this company's seed money

back to China and figure out
who's pulling the strings.

We have to search Kaleidoscope
to find anyone and everyone

who was in that bookstore last night.

And we've got to do this before
more innocent lives get lost.

Looking good, Billy Ray.

Feeling good, Louis.

Ooh. LAPD just got

a 911 call from Go, Go, Go?

Looks like something is go-go-going down.

I'll let the team know now.

Whoa.

Excuse me.

Officer Cole.

What do you got?

Apparently a masked, armed man and woman

raided the offices about 20 minutes ago.

Those guys weren't afraid

to throw their weight around, either.

Some of the people that worked
here got pretty banged up.

What did they want?

Hard drives.

Guess they were after whatever
these people were working on.

Anything else?

The CEO, a guy named Miguel Vela.

What about him?

They took him.

Threw a hood over his head
and dragged him out of here.

They say Vela put up
a good fight, but I don't know.

Okay. Thank you.

No problem.

Carpenter's death is just the beginning.

I got a feeling whoever
did this isn't finished.

On the bright side,

I can't wait to hear what
Katherine has to say about this.

No? Too soon?

You sure you're up for this?

Absolutely.

I mean it. You want to do this?

It is what it is.

Hey. Are you guys gonna take this one?

Because if you're not,
it would be my absolute pleasure

to have a go at it.

That's exactly why we can't
let you go in there.

Oh, yeah?
Yeah. We can't

let you have all the fun.
You'd never leave.

Well, he does have a point.

Oh, please. I would never

give up San Diego for you two.

Well, that's a little harsh, right?

A little?

Gentlemen. Quit stalling.

Now is it enough?

You're gonna have to be
more specific, Agent Hanna.

Young man already died
because of that technology.

Is it enough his coworkers
were roughed up,

or maybe now that his
boss has been kidnapped?

Gentlemen, the problem is you
have to see the whole picture.

Well, by all means, Katherine.

Why don't you tell us what we're missing?

Nice try. I'm not gonna
do your work for you.

Someone has been killed, so...

if you're withholding
information from us,

obstruction of justice is gonna
be the least of your problems.

It's not that hard, Agent Callen.

All you guys have to do
is ask the right questions.

Katherine, enough.

You know, I haven't seen
this side of you before, Sam.

- Stop playing games.
- I don't play games.

You know something.
You can help us solve this case.

You're giving me too much credit.

And I'm not a modest person.

Yeah, we're beginning to see that.

This case is so much bigger than
the three people in this room.

You still stand by
your search engine, don't you?

Forest for the trees, Agent Callen.

Forest for the trees.

Okay, well, I don't get it.

I did a deep dive into Katherine, Miguel,

everyone at the software company.

No one seems to have any
connection to or sympathies

for the Chinese government.

Okay. So they're building this
search engine out of pure greed.

- They're hoping to cash in.
- Yeah, but that

doesn't make sense, either.

See, we still haven't figured out

who's paying for all this back
in China, but whoever it is,

the money they're putting up
is essentially child's play.

Especially when compared to what Miguel

and all the other engineers were
making at their previous jobs.

Wait, so they all took
a pay cut to work on this?

Yes. And it doesn't seem

like they received any equity

in exchange, either.

Okay, that's not good.
It means that something else

is motivating them to work on it.
Yeah.

Any of these guys know each other

before they started
working at Go, Go, Go?

- Actually, yes.
- Oh.

So, everyone is connected to
at least one other person

at the company, through either a
previous job or grad school.

So it's as if they recruited each other.

What the hell are these guys up to?

I don't know. But there has
to be something we're missing.

Yeah, well, that's what
Katherine keeps telling us.

- Hey.
- Hey. We got something.

Uh, security footage outside the
office building shows two people

shoving Miguel into a Lexus SUV.

We got a hit on that vehicle

getting off the 101 in Hollywood.

Okay. Car is registered to a...

"Abdul Khan."

Saudi national.
Does he have a criminal history?

Uh, not that I can tell.

All right. On it.

Good work.

Oh, wow, look at that.
I get all three of you.

Lucky me.

Nice to see you, too.

Saudi Arabia.

A little hot and socially oppressive

for my taste. What about it?

We believe the men that
kidnapped Miguel Vela today

and murdered Michael Carpenter last night

are from Saudi Arabia.

Why is that?

Thank you,
but we're asking the questions.

What do you know about it?

Katherine, work with us.

You're holding something back.

The company has done nothing wrong.

I want to make that very clear.

Whatever you say.

What do the Saudis want?

The Chinese who are
backing the project...

- Do you know who they are?
- No. But the Chinese

who are backing the project
told the Saudis

about what we were building for them.

And they want in.

They wanted to use that technology

to censor their people,

and they didn't like it
when we turned them down.

When was that?

Miguel said he was approached
about two weeks ago.

It started with a lunch, then devolved

into phone calls, late-night phone calls,

menacing e-mails.

Katherine, why didn't you
tell us this before?

I have my reasons, Sam.

And you're just gonna have to
trust me that they're legit.

You believe her?

I don't know.

It's the first concrete thing
Katherine's given us.

It tracks
with the Saudis killing

one of the engineers.

They were trying to convince the company

to turn the software over.

Yeah. When that didn't work,
they raided the office,

stole the hard drives themselves.

And kidnapped
the CEO to make sure

they knew how the software operated.

Once Miguel shows them
how the algorithm works...

He no longer serves a purpose.

Okay, guys.

Take the next right.
You should see the Lexus SUV.

Well, hello there.

Kens?

Where'd they go?
Where'd they go, guys?

Beale, I think we lost them.

Don't worry, we haven't.

Uh, keep going, take the next left.

I should've driven.
I should've driven.

Well, hello again.

Yeah, hey. What up?

Guys, don't follow them.

Take the street after theirs instead.

Right,
give them a false sense of hope,

and cut them off when they think
they're in the clear?

You know it.

God bless you, Nell.

Okay, take this right.

How many airbags do we have in here?

Are there one on this side?
Because I'm gonna die.

There they are.

Okay.

Hold on.

Go, go.

Well, he didn't make it.

Oh, my God. She didn't, either.

Any sign of Miguel in there?

No.

Damn it.

They must have ditched him somewhere

between the office and here.

Son of a bitch.

So, the Saudis are dead,

but Miguel wasn't with them.

He could have escaped.

They could have killed him already.

Ooh, guys. There is a home

in Hancock Park that belongs
to Abdul Khan.

And the Lexus that took Miguel Vela

is registered to that same address.

They could be keeping him there,

trying to coerce him into sharing

his company's technology.

It's worth a shot. Nell, have
Kensi and Deeks meet us there.

Will do.

All right.
According to satellite heat sensors,

there's no one inside that house.

Time is running out.

Yeah, there's definitely something
going on in the backyard.

- Tell us. Ticktock.
- Got it.

Go.

Meet you around back.

You're going to talk.
You hear me?

Tell us!

We need the software.

We're gonna kill you.

On my call.

Three, two,

one.

Federal agents!

Federal agents!

Hands up.
Weapon down. Weapon down.

Down.

Turn around!

Turn around.

I don't think so.

Hands up. On your knees.

Don't move.

Get your hands behind your back.

Kensi!

You okay there, Kens?

Oh, yeah.

All part of the plan.

Uh-huh.

Yes, we're working
for the Chinese government.

And yes, we're taking what
is most likely dirty money.

And yes, I know that it looks bad.

And no, it looks very, very bad.

Well, we aren't doing anything illegal.

That's what Katherine keeps telling us.

Katherine should know all about it.

Including the fact that
we're giving China technology

that doesn't even work.

What does that mean?

Project Dragonfly may have gone away,

but China wasn't gonna stop

until they got what they wanted.

So I put together a team full
of people I knew I could trust.

We asked for less than scale, so we knew

that we'd win the contract.

And we've been botching
the code ever since.

The search engine doesn't work?

Not in the way China wants it to.

Not unless you're searching from
a government IP address,

which, in that case, it works perfectly.

Look, we didn't tell you anything

because we haven't delivered
the software to China yet,

and we need to keep up
the facade until we do.

So, what, you're actually the good guys?

Well, um, sort of.

Michael Carpenter died a hero.

Yeah. That's for sure.

And when did Katherine get involved?

She'd probably kill me
if she knew I told you this,

but the whole thing
was actually her idea.

Congratulations.

- I know, right?
- Hey.

- Oh!
- You guys made it.

- In the flesh.
- Hard drives are recovered

and back where they belong.

Well, now that everybody's here,
I think it calls for a toast.

To...

- Us.
- Old friends.

How about using technology for good?

Closing in

on dark money in China.

To the best team in town.

Exactly what I was gonna say.

- Cheers.
- Cheers.

Yes. Yes, mama.

Hey, uh, you want to grab a bite

before I drive back to San Diego?

Nicole, I'd love to, but...

I'm kidding.

Go. Get out of here.

Before it's too late. Okay.

- You got a minute?
- Yeah.

Yeah.

I don't mean to, uh, spoil the mood here,

but I took another look at that
Interpol report you sent me.

And, yes, the investigations
are still ongoing,

but the triple homicide out of Barcelona

is now being linked to several
other attacks across Europe.

The thing is, I'm not even certain

that it's Anna
in that surveillance video.

It's her.

How do you know?

I know Anna. It's her.

- Thanks, Mo.
- You bet.

Hey.

Hi.

- I apologize.
- I'm sorry about hiding the ball

there before.

I'm just glad

you didn't show me any
special treatment there today.

Special treatment.

And why would I go and do that?

Oh, because you like me.

Do I?

A lot.
Hmm.

Oh, really?

Definitely.
I can see it all over your face.

Oh. Is that so?

Like, all over it.

Hmm.

And you want to know
if I'm free for dinner.

For dinner. When is that?

Tonight.

Mmm.

Turns out that I am.

Wow. It's my lucky day.

Hmm.

- Yeah, we'll see about that.
- Yeah.

== sync, corrected by elderman ==
@elder_man