Original subtitles

Witnesses said the Mercedes

was driving on the wrong side of the road.

Vic swerved to avoid him.

Where's the driver?

At the ER.

I just got a page

from the hospital.

The other driver's injuries were minimal.

No-no sign of intoxication.

The deceased was a civilian accountant at DoD.

Handles Navy payroll.

And it looks like he made an unauthorized withdrawal.

What's a Navy accountant doing

with a bag full of cash and a .45?

I can tell you he appears to be

suffering from something called LEOPARD syndrome.

- Oh, here it comes. - It's an acronym

for a rare genetic disease.

Note the unusually large freckling around the face...

Lentigines,

as they're called. Very, very rare.

We're gonna need a statement from the other driver.

I'll bring him in.

- Are we charging him? - Maybe manslaughter?

He wasn't drunk, but...

he still killed someone.

Or not.

Doc?

I got multiple stab wounds.

Looks like a switchblade, maybe a small hunting knife.

He was probably bleeding for hours before the crash.

This man didn't die from the accident.

He was murdered.

Someone's in the trunk.

Hello?

Someone let me out of here! Hello?

It's okay.

Everything's fine.

What's your name, Marine?

Gibbs, sir.

Sergeant Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

Synced & corrected by -robtor- www.addic7ed.com

Hope no one has any plans this weekend.

We are going out.

I have plans every weekend.

Yeah, and I'm just finishing up the case for that kidnapping.

Sorry. Attendance is mandatory.

Oh, what's up, man? I haven't seen you this excited

since, uh...

um... nerd things.

Dude,

it is the 20th anniversary of the day I decided

to become an NCIS agent.

Oh, okay. That is a big deal.

I'm in, brah.

Wow. Me, too.

Me, three, assuming I'm invited.

Course. No, but the question is,

do I invite Gibbs?

Ooh, man, is that a trick question?

No. See, here's the thing.

Obviously, I want him to come, right?

But every time we ask him to go anywhere, he says no.

So I've been thinking maybe if I don't invite Gibbs,

you know...

How long have you been overthinking this?

Counting yesterday?

If you really want Gibbs to come, just ask him.

Ask me what?

Um, well, boss, I'm taking out some of the team

this weekend, for drinks,

and I was wondering...

Have fun.

Grab your gear.

We got a body.

Boss, you sure you don't want to come?

I'd love to have you.

Uh, maybe next time. _

Just so you know, it's-it's my anniversary.

McGee, I'm about done with anniversaries for the year.

Hey, uh, so where's the body?

In our basement.

If the body's still warm, it means

he's been here 12 hours or less.

But once Lenny the Liver Probe

does his magic, I'll be able to be more specific.

- Who is he? - Uh, no idea. We were...

waiting for you before we looked for a wallet.

Well, an A-plus to you for following protocol.

- Palmer. - Yeah?

- Wallet. - Oh, right, yeah.

All right, our mystery guest is...

NCIS Special Agent Ronald Calloway

of the Carolina office.

Must have been part

of that interoffice exchange last week.

- Call Carolina. Let 'em know. - Okay.

- What do you think happened? - Well, based

on petechial hemorrhaging, I'd say he

asphyxiated about...

nine hours ago.

How?

I'm not sure.

No signs of strangulation. Clearly didn't drown.

Looks like he burned that notebook over there.

Maybe that had something to do with his death.

It's not likely.

I-I really shouldn't speculate any further

until we get Agent Calloway here

- into autopsy. - Thanks.

Whoever he really is,

that was SAC at Carolina...

There is no Special Agent Calloway at their office

or at any NCIS office.

The credentials are fake.

Run his prints.

That's gonna be tough.

His fingerprints have been burned off.

What was this guy doing down here?

So, Torres said the security sweeps

are almost done... No sign of any bombs.

You check the roof?

Yeah, and everyone in the building's been accounted for.

We're pretty sure he was alone.

All right, I think we need to put a pin

in this evacuation for now.

But as soon as you find out who that man was,

- I want to know. - You heard him.

All right. Well, we don't have any I.D., but...

According to the sign-in log,

the intruder entered the building last night.

Wandered around for a little bit...

Then he went into the subbasement.

- Why'd he do that? - Well, I have a theory.

I think he might have been trying to hack into our network.

See, his body was found

next to the main interconnect hub.

That's what connects up every NCIS office in the world.

What was he after?

No clue. I mean, the only thing we found on him

besides his I.D. was that notebook.

And he burned it.

I guess he didn't want us to see what was inside.

But obviously, somebody's targeting us.

Find out who.

- Hey. - Hmm?

So, I did find something out.

Why didn't you tell Gibbs?

Because it's about Gibbs.

I think I know what he was talking about

when he said he was done with anniversaries.

Yeah, that was weird, huh?

I didn't realize, last week it was his and Shannon's

wedding anniversary.

Oh. Yeah.

- That's tough. - I know.

For him to even mention it...

I know.

Well, then we really should try to get him to come out

- for drinks with us. - I agree.

What we need is a ringer.

Someone with sweet little doe eyes

that Gibbs can't say no to.

You want me to do what?

Oh, come on, McGee. The guy never comes out

for drinks with us. And...

Oh, that is so sad.

Yeah, of course. No, I mean, I'll try.

It's just, getting Gibbs to commit to a social engagement's

like trying to find Waldo blindfolded.

How could you not know who Waldo is?

Who's Waldo?

Uh, actually, it's Where's Waldo?

Okay. Where is Waldo?

Maybe I should just tell you how our victim died.

It was a severe asthma attack.

I extracted these mucus plugs from his airways.

It's a hallmark sign of an asthmatic asphyxiation.

Also, based on the tox screen that Kasie sent down,

I'm fairly confident the attack was triggered by mold spores

from his basement, so,

Gibbs, his death was a fluke.

And you should totally come out for drinks with us

on Sunday.

My, that was smooth.

Segues aren't my strong suit.

But I really think that you would like...

Hearing more about how this guy died.

Yeah, that makes sense. Uh, Gibbs,

the thing is, this man shouldn't have died.

With asthma this bad, I'm sure he was prescribed an inhaler

at some point; I'm just not sure why he wasn't carrying it.

Because it could help I.D. him if he was caught.

Guess anyone who burns off their fingerprints

doesn't want to be identified.

But... Kasie got a hit on his DNA anyway.

So, our bad guy's name is...

Zucado.

Maurice Zucado.

I can see why he didn't want to be identified.

Gibbs, he's not just a bad guy.

He is a really bad guy.

In fact, he comes from...

A whole family of bad guys.

Wait. You know him?

I had a run-in with his cousin.

Years ago.

Gibbs?

- That's with two B's, right? - Yes, sir.

Well, you're lucky to be alive, Gibbs With Two B's.

Any idea who threw you in that trunk?

He didn't exactly introduce himself.

His real name was Rinaldi Zucado.

Goes by Ringo. Sound familiar?

- No. - The Zucados are a class act.

Four cousins who never met a law they wouldn't break.

B&E, assault, murder.

Used to be five. We think the other four ate him.

Uh-huh.

Looks like Ringo used an alias

to get an accounting job at DoD.

Then gave himself a bonus.

You sure you don't know anything about it?

I'm sure.

How about this?

Maybe a... a key?

Thinking hotel.

Yeah, but we can't find the hotel.

Hoping you can give us a lead.

Maybe start with how you ended up

in a trunk in D.C.

when your file says you're stationed at Lejeune.

No, sir, not anymore.

I was just accepted to scout sniper school.

Then you took a wrong turn.

This year's scouts report to Pendleton.

So why are you in D.C.?

Pit stop.

We're here for a buddy's wedding.

"We"?

My girlfriend, Shannon.

She gets here in a few days.

I'm here early because I'm in the wedding.

I was out looking for a suit

when this guy runs up behind me and sticks a gun in my ear.

Forced me into the trunk, took off driving.

He forced you, Marine?

There were civilians around.

Didn't want to risk it.

Noble.

But a gamble.

If it wasn't for that idiot driving

on the wrong side of the road,

you might be the one in our morgue.

And now you got a chance to say thank you.

Looks like he's back from the hospital to give his statement.

I'm just saying, if Americans want to drive

on the wrong side of the road, they should put up bloody signs

at every intersection

to remind the rest of the civilized world.

Mr. Mallard.

Actually, Dr. Mallard.

Well, former doctor.

Sergeant Gibbs.

Former trunk.

Ah.

I owe you a drink.

Well, that depends.

How do you feel about scotch?

I'd feel better about bourbon.

Sold.

Yes, well, that would be fantastic.

Ah, just the man I wanted to see.

Yes, I had a wonderfully productive lunch yesterday

with the historians from the DEA and CIA.

- And we had this... - Zucados are back.

I beg your pardon?

You heard me, Duck.

Well, how do you know?

Because one of them is laying downstairs in our morgue.

I believe the apropos phrase is

"just when we thought we were out..."

So, is Gibbs a yes or a no for drinks on Sunday?

No, unfortunately, it was a bust.

Jimmy had a good idea, though.

He thinks that we should fake a crime scene, right?

- Trick Gibbs... - McGee.

- Come on, let's go. - Oh. Okay.

Well, as you know, our intruder's

- real name was Maurice Zucado. - He's been in and out

of jail his whole life.

But one of his crimes seems particularly relevant now,

especially if we're going with a hacker theory.

About four years ago, Maurice

got a job at a phone company and was arrested

six months later for breaking into their system.

So he definitely has hacker skills.

What was he looking for?

I'm sure Zucado knows.

What's that?

Jonny Zucado.

Who's Jonny Zucado?

His cousin.

Jonny was in charge of the crew.

If there's a Zucado breaking the law,

Jonny's involved.

Find him.

- Okay. - Hey, Gibbs, so, there's this new bar

down by Lakewood, and, uh, they have bourbon

- that's smooth... - Jonny Zucado.

- Get me something. - Sir.

Boss, I got something.

It's a construction company that's under investigation

by the Carolinas Field Office on bribery

and obstruction of justice charges.

Well, this Zucado guy

easily could have sent his cousin to hack

into our system, see how much we know.

Bring him in.

Jonny went into hiding

the day Carolina filed charges against him.

He's gonna be tough to find.

You got a problem with tough?

Well, no, boss, but...

But I do have a question.

How'd you know...

to even look for this guy?

Sorry I'm late.

I finally found a rental home for Mother and me.

This one's furnished. I just signed the lease.

So, the boat's stuck in the bottle,

and you can never get it out. What's the point?

It's a beastly little Victorian Mother will hate

but you would probably love. There's a basement perfect...

- Oh, walk and talk. I'm thirsty. - Oh.

Yeah. When you said you wanted to buy me a drink,

I didn't realize we'd spend the next three days

hitting every pub in the city.

Well, I have to say, getting to know you

has been a fascinating case study in fortitude

and mettle.

U.S. Marine Corps must be proud to have you.

Feeling's mutual.

Succinctly put. You're a man of few words, aren't you?

- Well, you do all the talking. - Well,

let's talk about this wedding suit you've been lugging around.

Can I take a peek?

What do you think?

I think you are about to find out

just how much this girlfriend of yours actually loves you.

Speaking of, when do you pick her up?

Her bus gets in from Stillwater today, does it not?

Her bus does.

She doesn't.

Why? What happened?

Oh, my. Ah.

That explains the day drinking.

What's my excuse?

Jethro, I'm so very sorry. Did she give you a reason?

She didn't end it. I did.

W-Wait, wait, wait, wait. I don't understand.

This is the girl you called your soul mate,

and suddenly, you decide you...

You didn't break up with her over the phone, did you?

Would you prefer I let her get on a bus

and come all the way down here?

A proper gentleman would have gone to her.

I'm buying the drinks today.

Nobody's drinking today.

Jonny Zucado wants to talk to you.

He's not related to a Ringo by any chance?

Now.

Maurice, get the car.

After talking with Ducky, I think we figured out

a way we can track this Jonny Zucado guy.

Now, Jonny may have gone into hiding

to avoid the charges against him,

but his pacemaker did not.

Zucado was implanted with one exactly like this

when he was treated for atrial fibrillation last year.

Can you track it, Kasie?

Well, sort of. Every day, it phones home

to Zucado's doctor on a cellular frequency.

Now, the next time the pacemaker connects, I should be able

to triangulate his location off the cell tower.

Now, Jonny Zucado,

he can run from the long arm of the law, but he cannot hide

from the medium-sized arms of Kasie Hines.

Oh, Jethro.

Did you ever think you'd see that face again?

- Well, I was hoping not. - After I heard

about the run-in you two had back in the day

with this Zucado guy,

I looked up your old NIS case file.

What did I do?

It's not you.

It's him.

Jonny Zucado was the one that got away.

And it seems that his reappearance

is dredging up old memories that are...

better left unremembered.

Let's try this again.

What did my cousin Ringo say before he died?

The only Ringo I know is the one who wrote "Octopus's Garden."

Give me the thing from Freckles.

"I was out

"looking for a suit when a guy ran up

behind me and stuck a gun in my ear." That sound familiar?

Because that's what you told that cop.

Is there anything else not in the report?

My cousin Ringo

stole something from me.

Something very, very valuable.

And I need to know if he told those NIS cops about it.

You have the report.

You need me to read it to you?

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Your cousin died shortly after the car crash

from multiple stab wounds.

I attempted to save his life,

but he'd lost too much blood from those stab wounds.

Yeah. That was kind of the point.

The thing is he didn't have a chance

to tell those NIS agents anything.

He was dead long before they arrived.

I'm telling the truth.

Okay.

I believe you.

And thank you so much for that information.

We're done here.

You kill us,

they will never stop looking for you.

Won't be the cops that find you.

It will be the Marines.

Damn.

Semper Fi.

Baby Gibbs played that one right.

Zucado let us live, but with a warning.

He said if we told anyone about what had happened,

well, we'd regret it.

But you told NIS anyway. Right?

Wrong.

Gibbs wanted to, but I tried to persuade him otherwise.

Oh, I got something.

We just got a ping on his location,

but not from his pacemaker.

From his regular cell phone.

He just turned it on.

We found him.

- Hey. - Hey.

So this is the guy that broke both of Gibbs's arms.

Hmm?

I heard from the motor pool it was both his legs.

Well, apparently even adults can play telephone.

Either way, I would not miss this for the world.

Mm-mm. Payback is a bitch.

You got old.

Try wiser. Sit down.

I have to say, this, uh, police harassment thing

surprised me.

I didn't take you for the kind of guy who held grudges.

So, why am I here?

We caught your cousin trying to hack our computer system.

So what's that got to do with me?

You bribed a government official to land a construction contract.

Allegedly.

You're not gonna win in court.

You are going away for a long time.

Oh, I see.

You think I sent my cousin in to steal your files,

hoping I'd have an advantage at trial.

Yeah, that's right.

Well, I wish I'd thought of that.

Would have been a lot less risky than what I did instead.

You got no right to hold me.

I've got an arrest warrant.

Right. For the bribery charges.

Well... except I'd, uh, update my files if I were you.

Uh-oh, that can't be good.

Boss, I know about Rule 22. I'm sorry, but...

Oh, just tell him.

What, McGee?

The bribery charges against me have been dropped.

An hour ago. Carolina just confirmed it.

You couldn't get me 40 years ago...

...and you ain't gonna get me now.

Reunions are fun, aren't they?

Yeah, well, we were caught off guard as well

when we heard that Zucado's case was dismissed.

All right, Lynne, thank you.

Give my regards to Makenna.

Zucado buying judges now?

Judge had no choice.

The star witness in the trial just turned up dead.

There's no case without him. I want that body.

Why?

Because you know as well as I do

- Zucado killed him. - Well, that may be, but...

It's why he came out of hiding, Leon.

He knew that witness was dead.

There's only one way he could know about that.

It's not our case.

The bribery occurred on Carolina's turf.

Bribery?

Hell, we get him on murder. He admitted it.

- It's not our case. - It is,

Leon.

Zucado's cousin broke into our office,

trying to hack their way into the Carolina NCIS network.

That makes it our case.

All right.

I will call Carolina back and see if they'll send us the body.

But I want something, too, Gibbs.

I want you to chill out.

Ever since the name Zucado popped back up,

you've been off your game.

I tried to talk to Dr. Mallard,

but for the first time since D-Day,

he hasn't had anything to say.

Something going on between you two?

Why are we going through your back door?

Because they might be watching us.

Where's your phone?

Through there.

Nice wainscoting.

"Wainscoting"?

What kind of Marine are you?

And who are you phoning?

Agent Scott at NIS.

Not a good idea.

Why not?

Because that psychopath has copies

of the statements we gave them.

Zucado has a mole in the building.

And if you call Agent Scott and tell him what happened,

Zucado could find out.

Hell, for all we know, Scott could be the mole.

If we're smart...

We find out who the mole is before we go to NIS.

Not what I was going to say.

- We could do it. - No, we can't, Jethro.

We're not agents.

Then we go after Zucado ourselves.

Are you trying to get us killed, man?

Oh. I know what it is.

What?

You haven't been yourself

since you ended things with your girlfriend.

Haven't been myself?

Any twonk off the street can see

that you've been moping around like a lovesick teen.

Not to mention oozing with guilt.

- For what? - Don't you think

your girl deserves a proper explanation

for why you ended things so abruptly?

I gave her an explanation.

No, you gave her an excuse.

Sniper school is on the other side of the country

and a long-distance relationship would be too tough.

It would.

You got a problem with tough, Sergeant?

'Cause it seems to me that you're running.

Says the guy who moved across an ocean to become an ex-doctor.

This isn't about me.

It's about why the guy who was so afraid of a girl

is so willing to risk his life chasing a killer.

Trying to find some stupid NIS mole

when it could be any...

What?

I know who the mole is.

Hope you don't mind that I let myself in,

but there's only so many times a man will knock

before he tries the door.

That's actually

an old Mallard family proverb.

Fine.

Let's cut the small talk.

I'm worried about you, Jethro.

I'm fine.

No, you are not fine.

You should go, and talk to Agent Sloane.

Oh, yeah? 'Bout what?

You're letting a 40-year-old grudge

get under your skin.

That what I'm doing?

Well, have you considered letting McGee

take point on the Zucado case?

I'm not walking away from this.

- Jethro... - Doc,

I took your advice before.

I didn't go after Zucado.

I'm not backing down again.

Well, if you had gone after Zucado

40 years ago, you'd be dead.

Yeah.

I would be.

Is that the way you want history to unfold?

You'd never have married Shannon,

never had Kelly, you'd never...

You'd never have lost them.

I see.

Your grudge isn't with Zucado.

It's with me.

No.

They're the best thing that ever happened to me, you know?

Shannon and Kelly.

I don't blame you.

I owe you.

You gave me time with them.

Time's all we have.

Indeed it is.

But Shannon and Kelly aren't your only family.

Carolina has sent over the dead witness

from the Zucado bribery case.

I think I'll go

and see if Dr. Palmer needs any help.

The deceased is a 50-year-old male,

whose cause of death

has previously been determined to be...

Blunt force trauma to the cranium.

Not bad from 12 feet away.

I've had practice.

And I read the Carolina M.E.'s report.

I thought perhaps you might need some assistance.

Mi autopsia es su autopsia.

Have you found anything to tie this witness's murder

- to Jonny Zucado? - Not yet.

I am curious about one thing, though.

What's that?

How long we're gonna pretend

that you're down here to assist in an autopsy

when you have yet to take off your jacket,

much less scrub in.

That's embarrassing.

I won't tell anyone. He's dead.

Pretty sure you're safe.

My patients were not always dead.

I used to save lives.

But after all the death I witnessed

in the Jalozai

refugee camp in Afghanistan, well...

I found I didn't trust myself

to work on a living patient.

You know, I almost gave up the medical

profession altogether, after that.

Really?

What made you decide to stay?

Oddly enough,

it had a lot to do with the Zucados.

Hey, Doc.

Hi, Mike.

Well, I must admit

that I don't get a lot of requests for, uh,

tours down in Autopsy very often.

But I'm more than happy to extend

the professional courtesy, Doctor.

You must see some fascinating causes of death down here.

Uh, true.

Though, uh, pro tip?

I consider my real job

to bring closure to the families of the victims.

Might I be able to see the victim from mine?

Well, that depends.

On?

How long we're going to pretend

that you came down here for a simple tour.

Yes, you're right.

I haven't been entirely honest about why I'm here.

So you and Gibbs think that there's a mole

inside the building

feeding Jonny Zucado information?

Yes, but first I need to confirm something

on the body of Zucado's cousin...

The one I ran off the road.

One Ringo Zucado coming up.

Thank you.

Yes.

After our accident, when I was

attempting to save his life, I noticed

that he appeared to be suffering from LEOPARD syndrome.

You notice the large freckling.

Yeah. Caught that, too.

Uh, he also had stenosis, confirming the diagnosis.

Wh-Where's this going?

Last time I was in the building,

I passed a construction worker

who also had the same freckling

typical of LEOPARD syndrome.

I didn't think much at the time, but...

That's a hell of a coincidence.

It's an extremely rare genetic condition.

Given the odds, that construction worker has to be

related to the Zucados.

That's got to be the mole.

You think you can still identify that worker?

I never forget a face.

Not a problem.

We've got a problem.

And it is a big one.

What sort of a problem?

I just found ice crystal artifacts

throughout the derma cells of our dead witness there.

Look at the back of his arms.

Freezer burn.

Yeah. Based on this tissue damage,

I'd say that the star witness

against Jonny Zucado spent some time in a freezer

before they finally dumped his body.

I'd put his death at about eight days ago.

And that is a problem because...

Well, Zucado had this witness killed a week ago.

There'd be absolutely no reason for his cousin

to risk breaking into NCIS just to hack some case files.

So... what was his cousin Maurice

really doing in this building?

Bomb squad's doing another sweep of the entire Navy Yard.

He wasn't planting a bomb.

We know the cousin was here doing something in the building.

We just don't know what.

Which is why I asked you down here.

I have been working on the notebook

our intruder tried to burn in the basement.

As it turns out, ink burns at a different rate than paper.

- So I scanned the crispy critter. - Bottom line?

Well, I was able to partially

reconstruct one of the pages.

It's a map of the building.

Cuz wasn't trying to hack us.

I think he was looking for something in the building.

What?

No idea, but I got a lead on who drew this for him.

I pulled a handwriting sample

and compared it to every single Zucado I could find.

- You got a match. - I did indeed.

Your mapmaker is another Zucado cousin,

Emilio.

But apparently, everybody calls him...

Freckles.

I've heard that name before.

Give me the thing from Freckles.

Pick him up.

How many cousins does Jonny Zucado have?

Four.

Used to be five.

Supposedly, the other four ate him.

To be honest, I'm having trouble keeping them all straight.

Okay, Freckles.

We know you made this map for Jonny Zucado.

And we know your cousins used it

to get inside our building.

What we don't know is why.

Okay, I'll talk.

If you want to spend the rest of your life...

I'm sorry, what?

Well, that was easy.

Yeah, I-I didn't want to do it.

J-Jonny made me.

S-Said if I didn't, he'd kill me.

But if you give me protection,

I'll tell you everything.

Okay. Let's hear it.

It all started 40 years ago,

when Jonny dragged me into his office

and told me our cousin Ringo

stole something from him.

Something worth a lot of money.

Apparently, your guys at NIS

got a hold of it after some car crash

and Jonny wanted me to get it back.

So they slipped me into this painting crew

working in the building.

Took me a few days to figure out

how to get into the evidence locker,

but I finally got in.

The problem was

getting back out with it.

So I went back to work.

Then I noticed this blond guy

pointing me out to some agent.

Somehow, Blondie made me.

So, I stashed the keycard

and I got the hell out of there. I mean,

I moved away, cut ties,

and never looked back.

Well, we have a map that says otherwise.

I had no choice.

I ran into one of Jonny's goons in Cancun last month.

Jonny said if I told him how to find the keycard,

he might, might let me live.

That's why I drew the map.

Wait, so are you saying that the keycard

is still in this building?

How should I know?

I just know where I stashed it.

And where is that?

Yeah!

Come on, baby!

Oh, yeah!

There it is.

Yeah.

I just left Agent Torres.

Ah, there we go. Freckles had, uh,

- quite a story to tell. - Flashlight?

Yeah, well, after you I.D.'d him

- to Agent Scott back in 1980... - Thanks.

Freckles hid the keycard behind

a piece of drywall that was being patched

so he wouldn't be caught with it.

Wasn't a hotel key.

Was a key to a Swiss safety deposit box.

Apparently, Cousin Ringo

embezzled millions from the Navy.

Zucado didn't like being cut out,

so he tried to kill Ringo.

Yeah, they fought. Ringo got away.

Well, that must be when he carjacked you.

He was running away from Zucado.

Until you ran him off the road.

And that is how the keycard ended up back at NIS.

Yep. Found something!

Yes, Mother.

I will pick you up from the airport tomorrow.

No, not in a limo.

Yes. Right.

Bye, Mother!

Goodness' sake.

What are you doing?

Uh, cooking you a bon voyage meal

before you leave for California.

Steaks in the oven?

You mad at me?

I don't have a grill.

No, but you got one hell of a fireplace.

Is this, like, some American thing?

'Cause it sounds fairly gross.

No.

It's a... Jackson Gibbs thing.

My dad. Don't knock it...

...till you try it.

Oh, well, thank you for using your fingers.

Oh, for goodness' sake.

- There we go. - Mm.

I still can't believe Zucado walked away a free man.

Not enough proof to convict him.

Dr. Magnus must have missed something.

As M.E., surely he should've been able to find

some physical evidence tying Zucado to the stabbing.

Yeah?

Why don't you give it a try?

I'm not a doctor anymore.

Mm, no, this is different.

M.E.s don't save the living.

They help the dead find peace.

Besides,

you'd have a captive audience for all of your stories.

You join NIS,

you might get another shot at Zucado.

Second chances are important.

But not guaranteed, Jethro.

Especially involving matters of the heart.

Really?

We're doing this again?

Why did you really end it with your girlfriend?

Sniper school only lasts 11 weeks.

Then you could come home to her.

Then I'll leave again.

Stationed who knows where.

And what if one day I don't come home?

She gets a folded-up flag instead?

Seems like you're basing life decisions on a whole lot of ifs.

What do you want from me?

The truth.

You're scared.

Of what?

Love?

No. Losing love.

I think you're walking away before you get hurt.

I think you're more affected by my breakup than I am.

Because I know what you don't.

Love is never gonna come easy.

Yes, it is scary

and it's messy as hell, but it cannot be optional.

So when true love does come along,

you need to fight to hold on to it.

You need to... climb into that bottle with that ship

and put a cork in it.

Because it may never come round again.

What was her name?

Maggie.

What happened?

Believe it or not,

there are some stories even I won't tell.

Do not make the same mistakes I made, Jethro.

You're a good man.

And I do hope we cross paths again.

I got a feeling we might.

Oh, I can't wait to hear this.

What new crime am I being accused of now?

Oh, uh, not a new one.

You're under arrest.

For the murder of Rinaldi Zucado.

Ringo?

That was 40 years ago.

We exhumed his body.

And, as it turns out,

DNA has a half-life of over 500 years.

And guess whose DNA we found under Ringo's fingernails

the day he was murdered.

Reunions are fun, aren't they?

Call my lawyer.

Call him!

Hello?

Hey, it's me.

Don't hang up.

Shannon? Are you there?

What do you want?

I, uh, I only have a few days before I ship out.

And your point?

Uh, I've been doing some thinking.

Uh, a lot of thinking.

And I'd like to ask you a question

before I leave.

What kind of question?

The kind that a gentleman doesn't ask over the phone.

I'll see you in five hours.

McGee!

Hey, boss. Everything okay?

Yeah. Everything's fine.

Uh, you guys still out for drinks?

Oh, yeah.

And then some.

Why? You need us to come back?

No. No, no.

So...?

So... I was just, uh,

wondering how long you were gonna be there.

Thought I'd stop by.

McGee?

Gibbs is coming, baby!