Émission TV: NCIS - 9x22
Previously on NCIS...
www.Team-NCIS.com Someone was looking for Navy secrets.
Well, they found them.
The wiring throughout the entire ship could've flash fire-balled.
Our arsonist knew the ship's wiring weakness.
Meet Bruce Johnson.
The fire department site inspector.
The guy who hired me said Plimpton had information about some bum wiring.
Who hired you?
Gibbs, I found this inside.
Well, that's a list.
Of what?
Every Navy warship that contains the faulty wiring.
Whoever hired our arsonist knows how to attack U.S.
warships.
Blackmail?
Terrorism.
NCIS Season 9 Episode 22 Playing with Fire 1.0 AFG Synchro: Gaillots, Keller & Kujathemas.
Rereading: Bruno & Magic Turtle.
www.Team-NCIS.com This is a real threat to our Naval forces around the world and requires extreme vigilance.
While NCIS is vigorously investigating the fires, we must strengthen, share our intelligence collection across the board to identify the persons, terrorist group or nation behind the attacks.
You will be briefed as the investigation continues.
Thank you.
We're clear, sir.
I leave anything out, Agent Gibbs?
No, I think you covered it, sir.
Thank God the casualties were at a minimum.
Could've been a lot worse.
I don't think this is the end of it, sir.
SecNav Jarvis and I are meeting with the National Security Council to brief the President this afternoon.
They'll have questions.
I hope to have some answers for you.
When does Director Vance get back from the NATO conference?
End of the week.
I'm in touch with him a couple of times a day, sir.
I'm sure he'll be calling you.
Yeah, I'm leaving now.
Should take me about 15 minutes.
How'd it go, Boss?
It goes.
You get your hop?
Yeah.
Chopper from Anacostia's taking me out to the Brewer.
Let me know when you've secured the crime scene.
OK.
Also, the ship's turned around and headed for Norfolk.
When's it arrive?
Tomorrow morning.
What more do we know about Bruce Johnson?
Not much.
Parole officer was oblivious.
Johnson never missed an appointment.
You talk to your friends at Baltimore?
Jason said he hasn't popped up on the radar.
Wife was not much help.
She knew he was accused of arson, but had no idea where he went every day.
How she thinks he supported himself?
For the last year, unemployment.
Went through his cell phone records and e-mails.
Johnson hardly used them.
Only a few phone calls, no e-mails in the last couple months.
He doesn't like to communicate electronically.
Or he didn't want to be traced.
Anything on his computer?
Nothing of interest.
Abby went through it.
Johnson apparently liked to play online video games.
So we have no leads on who might have hired him?
Maybe Johnson isn't connected to the attack on the Brewer.
Not buying it.
Ship was on the targeted list found at his house.
Want me to come back later?
No.
Sorry.
Everything okay?
There is something personal I'd like to talk to you about.
But it can wait.
I wish I could provide you with a lead, but poor Mr.
Johnson's body here was so ravaged by fire that he just isn't talking to me.
I know the circumstances, I know time of death.
I was there, I witnessed it.
Twice in one week, fires so intense they cremated bone and incinerated flesh.
That's thermite.
I understand I have two more bodies from the U.S.S.
Brewer?
Yeah.
You need to be in Norfolk tomorrow morning to pick up the remains.
All right.
Abs, I'm on my way up.
Another fire.
Abs, you find something in Johnson's car?
No.
It is toast.
But come here.
What am I looking at?
Confetti!
Just kidding.
So this cross-cut shredder was found in Bruce Johnson's garage.
It slices documents, horizontally and vertically, into itsy-bitsy, teeny-tiny little pieces.
I've identified at least four documents and separated them.
How'd you do that?
By color and texture of the paper.
Like, this one's glossy, that's high-end bond, this is recycled.
But come check this one out.
What do you see?
Looks like Chinese characters.
Close...
it's Korean.
Those symbols are from the Korean Hangul alphabet.
It's a true alphabet with 24 consonant and vowel letters.
But instead of being written sequentially, the letters are grouped into blocks of two to five...
Abs, can you reconstruct the document?
I'm good, Gibbs, but I'm not that good.
But this document was printed on laser paper from a computer.
So Bruce Johnson was communicating with someone in Korean.
I mean, do you think North Korea could be behind the terrorist attacks?
You are bummed?
I am bummed.
I was really looking forward to it.
But I am sure we're going to be on alert all weekend.
Can you get the deposit back?
Great.
Okay, I promise, we will reschedule.
Okay, talk to you soon.
Bye.
Canceling weekend plans, huh?
Yeah.
Who were you talking to?
None of your business.
Where were you gonna go?
You don't have the need to know, Agent Di-Nosy.
How is everybody's favorite analyst?
Busy.
Things are hopping on the Far East desk.
Whew, I can imagine.
Nothing I can find indicates North Korean involvement in the attacks.
I spoke to analysts at other agencies...
zilch.
No chatter?
Things are quiet in Pyongyang.
Echelon?
Hasn't picked up anything.
Right.
McGee's coming online, MTAC, two minutes.
Keep me posted, Park.
DiNozzo, come on.
You're with me.
I am so envious about your weekend.
I had to cancel.
Am I the only one in the dark...
What do we got?
Identities of the two killed.
Marine First Lieutenant Eric Ramsey, a combat cargo officer.
And a civilian, Tobey Abbott, he's a tech rep for a company with Navy contracts.
Also a fireman apprentice received minor burns while putting out the blaze.
What was the civilian doing on the ship?
Works for Norton Turbine.
He was following up on some repairs to the ship's power plant.
You okay, McGee?
We have to consider Mr.
Abbott a suspect.
He was killed in the machine room, which is the point of ignition.
It's his company's equipment in the machine room?
Nowhere near it.
But I've secured Abbott's quarters, I just haven't had time to go through it yet.
There she blows.
Seriously?
You're a Navy criminal investigator.
Give me a break, Tony, okay?
Three hours ago, I was sitting at my desk, I was choppered out into the middle of the Atlantic in a raging storm, landed on the pitching deck of an LPD amid 20-foot seas, and have spent the last hour in a burnt-out machine room with acrid smoke and diesel fuel.
Poor guy.
We'll be pier-side when the ship arrives in Norfolk tomorrow morning.
Get back to his house, talk to his wife again, and see if you can't establish a North Korean connection.
Right.
Feel better, McGee.
Apples and crackers.
I thought you got everything you needed.
You all but tore the house apart.
Have another warrant?
No, Mrs.
Johnson.
We just need to ask you a couple of more questions.
Did your husband read or speak Korean?
You're not serious.
He could barely express himself in English.
Did he have a Korean friend, a business connection, neighbor?
You're just not getting it.
God, either of you ever been divorced?
We were in the middle of an ugly one.
This is a very difficult time... "
Difficult"?
All he left me were a bunch of bills and a mortgaged house we can't sell.
Then the deadbeat blows himself up in the driveway, now I'll never unload it.
I'm sorry to hear about your husband, Mrs.
Johnson.
Yeah, thanks.
More bills.
We done?
I guess so, yeah.
She is one angry screw.
You know, a woman with a bad temper.
Shrew, Ziva.
Hold on a second.
Hey!
Excuse me.
Can I ask you a question?
Sure.
Have you ever delivered any mail to the Johnson house from Korea?
No.
I'd remember that.
You sure?
Yeah.
They have been receiving letters from Switzerland lately.
Good-looking stamps.
Switzerland.
It's open, Duck.
Thanks for letting me drop by.
Yeah, you sounded troubled on the phone.
Oh, really?
No, nothing serious.
Bringing work home?
Yeah, hard copy of Lieutenant Ramsey's OQR.
Survived two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He has a Purple Heart, has a Bronze Star.
Gets killed by an American terrorist on a U.S.
ship.
It's tragic.
And senseless.
Want a cup of tea?
Jethro, this is tea dust.
I prefer tea leaves, steeped in boiling water in a proper pot.
But thank you all the same.
What's on your mind?
Well, there have been a number of changes in my life the last few years, not the least of which was Mother's passing.
Then selling her house, moving into town.
I chose not to tell anyone this, but...
I've come into rather a lot of money.
Far more than I will ever need.
I didn't say anything to anyone because I find that people tend to treat you differently if they think you're rich.
Why are you telling me now?
Because I trust you, and I'd like to ask a favor.
I'm redoing my will.
It's still being drafted, and I have some decisions to make, but...
I'd like you to be the executor of my estate.
Me, Ducky?
Are you sure about that?
Don't you want a lawyer?
No, I'd rather have a friend that I can trust rather than someone who hardly knows me.
Yeah, I'd be honored.
You feeling any better?
Oh, much better.
The ship's stopped rocking.
Where are my bodies?
Haven't moved them.
This is Lieutenant Ramsey.
The civilian's remains are in the machine room, just aft.
You find anything in the civilian's quarters?
I haven't gotten to it yet.
Spent the night in sick bay.
Didn't want to contaminate the scene.
Take Tony and Ziva with you, will you?
Where are they?
I'll be with Ducky and the arson specialists.
Got a little present for you.
What?
Barf bags.
Has Abby finalized plans for Palmer's bachelor party?
Don't know.
She hasn't talked.
She's keeping everything under wraps.
I wouldn't worry, though.
Abby would not disappoint us.
What is this American thing...
grown men acting like fraternity boys?
I do not understand.
What's not to understand?
You got your booze, your strippers.
Total debauchery.
Abby would never plan something like that.
Clotrimazole.
Poor Abbott has jock itch.
Not anymore.
Ziva, the weekend's coming up, and we're on alert.
Doesn't that blow your plans for...
Seriously?
I mean, does everybody but me know your plans for this weekend?
Look at this.
It's got a Swiss stamp.
What does that mean?
This connects the attacks.
It's gibberish.
What do you mean?
It's a meaningless collection of Korean script.
These are all symbols from the Hangul alphabet.
However, their arrangement forms no words or sentences.
Could it be a dialect or regional language?
I showed it to a professor of Korean language at Georgetown.
He assured me it made absolutely no sense.
It's a code.
I thought the same thing.
I sent a copy to our cryptographers.
Haven't heard anything.
I'll contact them as soon as we finish here.
I've talked to State and the CIA.
Their North Korean experts gave no indication of that country's involvement in the attacks.
Actually, under their new leadership, they've been playing nice.
For the moment.
So, if it's not North Korea, who are we dealing with?
What do we know about Abbott?
Tobey "No Middle Name" Abbott, 29.
Single, born in Norwalk, Connecticut.
No police or military record.
Attended Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute in Troy, New York.
Nothing distinguishing.
Had three jobs before joining Norton Turbine as a mechanic a year ago.
That's it?
That's it.
Not so fast, Ms.
David.
I just got off the phone with Abbott's high school advisor.
Had his heart set on going to the Naval Academy, but got rejected.
He wanted it so bad, he spent the year after high school attending a service academy prep school.
And he got rejected again.
You got it.
Think he holds a grudge?
Talk to Abbott's supervisor at Norton Turbine.
Ducky dropped that off a little while ago.
Why would he give you tea leaves?
Tony can be so transparent.
You think?
He came down here asking me about thermite, but, really, he was fishing.
He was trying to find out what Ziva had planned for the weekend.
You didn't tell him, did you?
Of course not.
It's driving him crazy.
Yeah, but it's just Pilates weekend with her landlady.
Yeah, but that's not what Tony's dirty little mind is thinking.
We getting anywhere?
The arson inspectors sent me residue of the accelerant used on the fire aboard the Brewer.
Major Mass Spec is back on his game.
He just I.D.'d the residue as the exact same mixture of thermite and fire retardant that Detective King and I identified in the other fires.
Same signature, it's a different arsonist.
Why didn't it do more damage to the ship?
Have a theory, Boss.
Let me show you.
On the deck directly below the machine room is the magazine locker, and it contains thousands of pounds worth of explosives.
There's no way that Abbott could have gained access to that area.
His plan was to ignite the slow-burning, intensely hot thermite fire in the area just above.
When it burned through the deck and hit the magazine below, the ship, would have been severely damaged, maybe even sunk.
Why didn't that happen?
This is a file photo of the machine room.
And here is the point of ignition.
Now, what Abbott didn't realize was, these three tanks contained highly flammable material.
Before the fire could burn below as intended, the tanks ignited and caused the explosion that killed him and Lieutenant Ramsey.
Did you see the John Wayne movie, Hellfighters?
The Duke played Red Adair, the oil well firefighter.
What happened on the ship is exactly what happened when Red used the dynamite.
The explosion created a vacuum, and it sucked out all the oxygen and extinguished the fire.
Lucky.
We getting anywhere decoding the Korean document?
No, but it did come from the same printer and it's the same paper as the shredded document that we found at Bruce Johnson's.
Dusted it and the envelope for prints.
Only got Abbott's.
We also found DNA on the flap of the envelope where someone licked it.
Who?
You got a name?
I ran it through active military and known felons and Interpol.
Nothing yet, but I'll keep trying.
You're welcome.
I was the one who interviewed and hired Tobey Abbott little over a year ago.
What exactly was he doing for your company aboard the USS Brewer?
We did some repairs to the ship's power plant.
It's customary to send a mechanic to make sure everything's working properly under operating conditions.
Do you know what caused the explosion?
Still under investigation.
Why did you select Abbott to go?
He was a good mechanic.
Not our best, more than adequate.
To be honest, he lobbied for the assignment.
Really?
Careful.
I usually have to beg my guys to go out to sea on Navy contracts.
They're not pleasure cruises.
You can be stuck on the ship for weeks waiting until it reaches a port.
Did Abbott say why he wanted to go?
My guess...
unlike most of the others, he was single.
Wasn't leaving a family.
Plus there's a small pay incentive.
You know who he hung with?
Anyone at work?
Tobey could be moody.
Pretty much kept to himself.
If you think of anything else, would you give me call?
Sure.
Did Tobey Abbott speak Korean?
Don't know, but I seriously doubt it.
Thanks.
I found traces of a substance under Mr.
Abbott's fingernails that Abby identifies as the same combination of thermite and fire retardant that's coated Bruce Johnson's body.
One more thing connecting the fires.
The cause of Lieutenant Ramsey's death was blunt force trauma.
He would have survived his burns, but with the force of the explosion, he fractured his skull on a bulkhead.
I found this, in one of his pockets.
Wife's a kid herself, Duck.
I got to go.
You have beautiful children.
I can't believe you're still with Gibbs.
Has he mellowed with age?
What do you think?
Last time I spoke with him was right after Mike Franks died.
He didn't want to talk about it.
He keeps a lot inside.
What's he building in his basement now?
Don't know.
Haven't been down there in a while.
Down where, DiNozzo?
Hi-ya, Boss.
Special Agent Burley.
You got something for us?
Yeah.
Where are you?
Naples, Italy.
I came here to perform a port-threat assessment prior to the arrival of the aircraft carrier, the Benjamin Franklin.
It's due in tomorrow.
And then I got the alert.
The Benjamin Franklin's on the list of marked vessels.
Find something?
I was conducting a search of the warehouse that serves as a collection point for goods and equipment that are going to resupply the ship.
Found an explosive device hidden on a palette.
What kind of device?
Thermite, with a magnesium fuse.
Just like described in the alert.
A nuclear aircraft carrier.
They're upping the stakes.
Andiamo, bambina!
Dove?
Gear up.
We're leaving for Naples.
Naples, Italy?
Si.
I'm going home to grab some clothes.
You should do the same.
We're hopping a military flight from Andrews Air Force Base.
This one of your practical jokes?
Nope.
Gibbs' orders.
It's a good thing you canceled your Pilates weekend.
Who told you?
I'm a very special agent, I have my ways.
Come on.
Wake up.
Get up.
I've got coffee.
I've got Danish.
What do you got?
You're not mad at us for waking you up?
Depends what you found.
Boss, we broke the code on the Korean message.
It took us a long time because, we and the cryptologists thought that it was gonna be really complicated, but it wasn't.
It was actually easy.
Using a Korean-Hangul word processing program, the person who sent the message, typed the words into an English-alphabet keyboard.
But it was printed out in Hangul script.
I'll show you the first line of the document. "
Place the thermite device on the 0-3 deck."
Those characters don't form Korean words, Gibbs.
So it would be meaningless to anyone that was reading Korean.
Reversing the process, decodes the message.
Uncoded, the rest of it instructed Abbott when, where, how to attack the U.S.S.
Brewer.
Don't suppose he was dumb enough to sign it?
Any luck with the DNA on the envelope?
Unfortunately, no.
Good to see you again, DiNozzo.
Hey, how are you?
Special Agent Ziva David.
Agent Burley.
It's a pleasure.
Stan, please.
Welcome to Napoli, the home of Mount Vesuvius, pizza and romance.
I got it, Tony.
Heard a lot about you.
From who?
Abby.
All good.
She never says anything bad about anyone.
I love that woman.
When'd you get here?
Last week.
I was enjoying the weather and cuisine until we were put on alert.
The Benjamin Franklin has arrived.
Yeah, it dropped anchor about an hour ago.
You're the senior field agent in charge.
What's the game plan?
The palette's still in the warehouse.
Thermite's been replaced with an inert, look-alike substance.
It'll be barged out to the ship in a couple hours and put in the cargo bay.
The three of us will board the ship, undercover, as Navy personnel joining the deployment.
Let me help you with that.
We've got a water taxi, it's gonna take us out to the ship.
We're going to stake out the cargo bay and wait to see who comes for the thermite.
And there's over 5000 onboard, we're looking for a needle in a haystack.
Fire on the Brewer was started by a civilian.
A tech rep.
I read the bulletin from headquarters.
I checked, there are 32 civilians on the Benjamin Franklin right now.
The problem is, if we question them, we'll spook whoever it is before they go for the bait.
After you, Ziva.
Stay classy, Stan.
Andiamo.
Morning, Jethro.
Morning, Duck.
Something happen?
No, false alarm.
Aboard a missile frigate off the coast of Diego Garcia.
I just released Ramsey's body for burial at Arlington.
A fully executed copy of my will.
Besides a couple of bequeaths to a nephew in Scotland and my good friends at NCIS, I'm leaving the bulk of my estate to charity.
That's nice.
I was really struck by that photograph of the young lieutenant with his wife and children.
I was, too.
I sent her a note last night.
I was struggling with the decision as to where the money would do the most good there are so many worthy charities.
I had been considering the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation.
They do so much good for Marine Corps families.
They give them the means to send their kids to college.
Seeing Lieutenant Ramsey's young children just made the decision for me.
Yeah, that's nice.
Real nice, Duck.
Got a bogey.
About time.
Getting warmer.
Standing in front of the hatch.
Afraid you weren't gonna show.
You kidding?
Been thinking about you all day.
Did you miss me?
Let's go.
False alarm.
Two young seamen anxious to parallel park.
Busting them is not our problem at the moment.
Where's David with the food?
I don't know.
She probably got lost.
What took you so long?
Do you know they have nine different places to get food on this ship?
I hope you got something good.
Why are you so grumpy?
You should be happy, Petty Officer DiNozzo.
I got it at the officer's mess.
Of course you did.
Because Burley made you an officer and me enlisted.
That's why you're so grumpy.
Now what's wrong with you?
It's just, my stomach's been a little queasy.
Seasick?
We're still at the harbor.
If you tell McGee, I'm gonna post those bikini photos that I have on the agency Web site.
I told you to destroy them.
Well, a man's got to have leverage.
I got to hit the head.
Game's on, Stan.
Okay, he's going for the bait.
Burley?
NCIS!
Stay back!
Okay, this is the only way in or out.
All the other hatches are secure.
Still breathing.
Weapon's gone.
Corpsman's on the way.
How's Burley?
See for yourself.
Navy docs are great.
I'll be okay.
A couple weeks R and R will help.
What's the condition of the suspect?
His name is Andr� Fullerton.
He's a tech rep, employed by an avionics communications firm.
Who put you up to this, Fullerton?
Put me up to what?
Sabotaging a U.S.
Navy ship.
You stabbed a federal agent.
Shouldn't someone be reading me my rights?
You have no rights.
You're a terrorist on a U.S.
Navy ship.
And we're invoking the Patriot Act.
In an hour, you're going to be flown off this ship, escorted by Agent David and myself, to Aviano Air Base, where you're going to board a C-37A and you're going to be flown to Guant�namo Bay, Cuba.
Once there, you're going to be staying at a sunny little seaside resort the locals call Gitmo.
Heard a nasty rumor about what goes on down there.
You'll never be heard from again.
Your friends, your family, they won't know what happened to you.
So I'm going to ask you again.
Who hired you?
You're bluffing.
Agent Gibbs does not bluff.
Can we make some kind of deal?
You're in no position to negotiate.
For the last time, who's behind the terrorist attacks?
You yank him out of that rack, and you put him on a plane.
Hold it!
I'll tell you.
His name's...
Harper Dearing.
Tell us about him.
I don't know anything.
Your memory will improve once you get to Gitmo.
I never saw him.
I spoke to him on the phone.
He explained, after that, he'd only communicate in Korean code.
That's it?
Not good enough.
Enjoy Cuba.
He had what, Northerners would call a slight Southern drawl.
I know.
I'm from Mississippi.
That's all I know.
Why did you do it?
Money.
Lots of money.
Put him on suicide watch.
I want to make sure he gets back here for trial.
You got it.
I've found seven Harper Dearings in the United States.
Four of them either currently reside or were born in the South.
Let's hear it.
Harper Dearing, 48-year-old housewife, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Harper Dearing number two.
He's currently 84, residing in a nursing home for retired clergy.
Next.
Harper Dearing number three.
Second grader in a Little Rock, Arkansas elementary school.
Harper Dearing number four.
61 years old, born in Augusta, Georgia.
Currently resides in Virginia.
Let me hear it.
He's the CEO of Dorado Hills Investments, a multinational venture capital group that specializes in technology companies.
It's HQ in Sterling, Virginia.
Criminal or military record?
Neither.
Why would a corporate executive be terrorizing U.S.
Navy vessels?
Doesn't make sense.
Get his name down to Abby.
She's got a DNA sample from the envelope.
See if she can match it up to him.
And if she can't maybe he's got a close relative whose DNA is on file.
What are you doing?
Cleaning my weapon and waiting for you to get in.
How's Burley?
He's fine.
McGee said Dearing had a son that was in the Navy.
Did you get a DNA match?
I've had people working in the lab all night.
Let me check my e-mail.
I'm having them compare the DNA from the envelope that was found in Abbott's quarters to the DNA of Dearing's son, Evan.
Okay, it's here.
They found a familial match.
There is 99.9% probability that Harper Dearing is your guy.
What's going on?
Where's Dearing's office?
Second floor.
NCIS.
No, no, I'll call you back.
May I help you?
Who are you?
Vincent Maple.
I'm the president of this company.
Where is Dearing?
I have no idea.
Why are you looking for him?
We have a warrant for his arrest.
He's wanted for terrorism and four counts of murder.
Where is he?
I don't know.
I haven't seen or heard from him in over a year.
How do you get in touch with him?
I don't.
Listen up.
For attacks against the United States Navy.
Harper Dearing.
Let's go.
We got work to do.
www.Team-NCIS.com
www.Team-NCIS.com Someone was looking for Navy secrets.
Well, they found them.
The wiring throughout the entire ship could've flash fire-balled.
Our arsonist knew the ship's wiring weakness.
Meet Bruce Johnson.
The fire department site inspector.
The guy who hired me said Plimpton had information about some bum wiring.
Who hired you?
Gibbs, I found this inside.
Well, that's a list.
Of what?
Every Navy warship that contains the faulty wiring.
Whoever hired our arsonist knows how to attack U.S.
warships.
Blackmail?
Terrorism.
NCIS Season 9 Episode 22 Playing with Fire 1.0 AFG Synchro: Gaillots, Keller & Kujathemas.
Rereading: Bruno & Magic Turtle.
www.Team-NCIS.com This is a real threat to our Naval forces around the world and requires extreme vigilance.
While NCIS is vigorously investigating the fires, we must strengthen, share our intelligence collection across the board to identify the persons, terrorist group or nation behind the attacks.
You will be briefed as the investigation continues.
Thank you.
We're clear, sir.
I leave anything out, Agent Gibbs?
No, I think you covered it, sir.
Thank God the casualties were at a minimum.
Could've been a lot worse.
I don't think this is the end of it, sir.
SecNav Jarvis and I are meeting with the National Security Council to brief the President this afternoon.
They'll have questions.
I hope to have some answers for you.
When does Director Vance get back from the NATO conference?
End of the week.
I'm in touch with him a couple of times a day, sir.
I'm sure he'll be calling you.
Yeah, I'm leaving now.
Should take me about 15 minutes.
How'd it go, Boss?
It goes.
You get your hop?
Yeah.
Chopper from Anacostia's taking me out to the Brewer.
Let me know when you've secured the crime scene.
OK.
Also, the ship's turned around and headed for Norfolk.
When's it arrive?
Tomorrow morning.
What more do we know about Bruce Johnson?
Not much.
Parole officer was oblivious.
Johnson never missed an appointment.
You talk to your friends at Baltimore?
Jason said he hasn't popped up on the radar.
Wife was not much help.
She knew he was accused of arson, but had no idea where he went every day.
How she thinks he supported himself?
For the last year, unemployment.
Went through his cell phone records and e-mails.
Johnson hardly used them.
Only a few phone calls, no e-mails in the last couple months.
He doesn't like to communicate electronically.
Or he didn't want to be traced.
Anything on his computer?
Nothing of interest.
Abby went through it.
Johnson apparently liked to play online video games.
So we have no leads on who might have hired him?
Maybe Johnson isn't connected to the attack on the Brewer.
Not buying it.
Ship was on the targeted list found at his house.
Want me to come back later?
No.
Sorry.
Everything okay?
There is something personal I'd like to talk to you about.
But it can wait.
I wish I could provide you with a lead, but poor Mr.
Johnson's body here was so ravaged by fire that he just isn't talking to me.
I know the circumstances, I know time of death.
I was there, I witnessed it.
Twice in one week, fires so intense they cremated bone and incinerated flesh.
That's thermite.
I understand I have two more bodies from the U.S.S.
Brewer?
Yeah.
You need to be in Norfolk tomorrow morning to pick up the remains.
All right.
Abs, I'm on my way up.
Another fire.
Abs, you find something in Johnson's car?
No.
It is toast.
But come here.
What am I looking at?
Confetti!
Just kidding.
So this cross-cut shredder was found in Bruce Johnson's garage.
It slices documents, horizontally and vertically, into itsy-bitsy, teeny-tiny little pieces.
I've identified at least four documents and separated them.
How'd you do that?
By color and texture of the paper.
Like, this one's glossy, that's high-end bond, this is recycled.
But come check this one out.
What do you see?
Looks like Chinese characters.
Close...
it's Korean.
Those symbols are from the Korean Hangul alphabet.
It's a true alphabet with 24 consonant and vowel letters.
But instead of being written sequentially, the letters are grouped into blocks of two to five...
Abs, can you reconstruct the document?
I'm good, Gibbs, but I'm not that good.
But this document was printed on laser paper from a computer.
So Bruce Johnson was communicating with someone in Korean.
I mean, do you think North Korea could be behind the terrorist attacks?
You are bummed?
I am bummed.
I was really looking forward to it.
But I am sure we're going to be on alert all weekend.
Can you get the deposit back?
Great.
Okay, I promise, we will reschedule.
Okay, talk to you soon.
Bye.
Canceling weekend plans, huh?
Yeah.
Who were you talking to?
None of your business.
Where were you gonna go?
You don't have the need to know, Agent Di-Nosy.
How is everybody's favorite analyst?
Busy.
Things are hopping on the Far East desk.
Whew, I can imagine.
Nothing I can find indicates North Korean involvement in the attacks.
I spoke to analysts at other agencies...
zilch.
No chatter?
Things are quiet in Pyongyang.
Echelon?
Hasn't picked up anything.
Right.
McGee's coming online, MTAC, two minutes.
Keep me posted, Park.
DiNozzo, come on.
You're with me.
I am so envious about your weekend.
I had to cancel.
Am I the only one in the dark...
What do we got?
Identities of the two killed.
Marine First Lieutenant Eric Ramsey, a combat cargo officer.
And a civilian, Tobey Abbott, he's a tech rep for a company with Navy contracts.
Also a fireman apprentice received minor burns while putting out the blaze.
What was the civilian doing on the ship?
Works for Norton Turbine.
He was following up on some repairs to the ship's power plant.
You okay, McGee?
We have to consider Mr.
Abbott a suspect.
He was killed in the machine room, which is the point of ignition.
It's his company's equipment in the machine room?
Nowhere near it.
But I've secured Abbott's quarters, I just haven't had time to go through it yet.
There she blows.
Seriously?
You're a Navy criminal investigator.
Give me a break, Tony, okay?
Three hours ago, I was sitting at my desk, I was choppered out into the middle of the Atlantic in a raging storm, landed on the pitching deck of an LPD amid 20-foot seas, and have spent the last hour in a burnt-out machine room with acrid smoke and diesel fuel.
Poor guy.
We'll be pier-side when the ship arrives in Norfolk tomorrow morning.
Get back to his house, talk to his wife again, and see if you can't establish a North Korean connection.
Right.
Feel better, McGee.
Apples and crackers.
I thought you got everything you needed.
You all but tore the house apart.
Have another warrant?
No, Mrs.
Johnson.
We just need to ask you a couple of more questions.
Did your husband read or speak Korean?
You're not serious.
He could barely express himself in English.
Did he have a Korean friend, a business connection, neighbor?
You're just not getting it.
God, either of you ever been divorced?
We were in the middle of an ugly one.
This is a very difficult time... "
Difficult"?
All he left me were a bunch of bills and a mortgaged house we can't sell.
Then the deadbeat blows himself up in the driveway, now I'll never unload it.
I'm sorry to hear about your husband, Mrs.
Johnson.
Yeah, thanks.
More bills.
We done?
I guess so, yeah.
She is one angry screw.
You know, a woman with a bad temper.
Shrew, Ziva.
Hold on a second.
Hey!
Excuse me.
Can I ask you a question?
Sure.
Have you ever delivered any mail to the Johnson house from Korea?
No.
I'd remember that.
You sure?
Yeah.
They have been receiving letters from Switzerland lately.
Good-looking stamps.
Switzerland.
It's open, Duck.
Thanks for letting me drop by.
Yeah, you sounded troubled on the phone.
Oh, really?
No, nothing serious.
Bringing work home?
Yeah, hard copy of Lieutenant Ramsey's OQR.
Survived two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He has a Purple Heart, has a Bronze Star.
Gets killed by an American terrorist on a U.S.
ship.
It's tragic.
And senseless.
Want a cup of tea?
Jethro, this is tea dust.
I prefer tea leaves, steeped in boiling water in a proper pot.
But thank you all the same.
What's on your mind?
Well, there have been a number of changes in my life the last few years, not the least of which was Mother's passing.
Then selling her house, moving into town.
I chose not to tell anyone this, but...
I've come into rather a lot of money.
Far more than I will ever need.
I didn't say anything to anyone because I find that people tend to treat you differently if they think you're rich.
Why are you telling me now?
Because I trust you, and I'd like to ask a favor.
I'm redoing my will.
It's still being drafted, and I have some decisions to make, but...
I'd like you to be the executor of my estate.
Me, Ducky?
Are you sure about that?
Don't you want a lawyer?
No, I'd rather have a friend that I can trust rather than someone who hardly knows me.
Yeah, I'd be honored.
You feeling any better?
Oh, much better.
The ship's stopped rocking.
Where are my bodies?
Haven't moved them.
This is Lieutenant Ramsey.
The civilian's remains are in the machine room, just aft.
You find anything in the civilian's quarters?
I haven't gotten to it yet.
Spent the night in sick bay.
Didn't want to contaminate the scene.
Take Tony and Ziva with you, will you?
Where are they?
I'll be with Ducky and the arson specialists.
Got a little present for you.
What?
Barf bags.
Has Abby finalized plans for Palmer's bachelor party?
Don't know.
She hasn't talked.
She's keeping everything under wraps.
I wouldn't worry, though.
Abby would not disappoint us.
What is this American thing...
grown men acting like fraternity boys?
I do not understand.
What's not to understand?
You got your booze, your strippers.
Total debauchery.
Abby would never plan something like that.
Clotrimazole.
Poor Abbott has jock itch.
Not anymore.
Ziva, the weekend's coming up, and we're on alert.
Doesn't that blow your plans for...
Seriously?
I mean, does everybody but me know your plans for this weekend?
Look at this.
It's got a Swiss stamp.
What does that mean?
This connects the attacks.
It's gibberish.
What do you mean?
It's a meaningless collection of Korean script.
These are all symbols from the Hangul alphabet.
However, their arrangement forms no words or sentences.
Could it be a dialect or regional language?
I showed it to a professor of Korean language at Georgetown.
He assured me it made absolutely no sense.
It's a code.
I thought the same thing.
I sent a copy to our cryptographers.
Haven't heard anything.
I'll contact them as soon as we finish here.
I've talked to State and the CIA.
Their North Korean experts gave no indication of that country's involvement in the attacks.
Actually, under their new leadership, they've been playing nice.
For the moment.
So, if it's not North Korea, who are we dealing with?
What do we know about Abbott?
Tobey "No Middle Name" Abbott, 29.
Single, born in Norwalk, Connecticut.
No police or military record.
Attended Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute in Troy, New York.
Nothing distinguishing.
Had three jobs before joining Norton Turbine as a mechanic a year ago.
That's it?
That's it.
Not so fast, Ms.
David.
I just got off the phone with Abbott's high school advisor.
Had his heart set on going to the Naval Academy, but got rejected.
He wanted it so bad, he spent the year after high school attending a service academy prep school.
And he got rejected again.
You got it.
Think he holds a grudge?
Talk to Abbott's supervisor at Norton Turbine.
Ducky dropped that off a little while ago.
Why would he give you tea leaves?
Tony can be so transparent.
You think?
He came down here asking me about thermite, but, really, he was fishing.
He was trying to find out what Ziva had planned for the weekend.
You didn't tell him, did you?
Of course not.
It's driving him crazy.
Yeah, but it's just Pilates weekend with her landlady.
Yeah, but that's not what Tony's dirty little mind is thinking.
We getting anywhere?
The arson inspectors sent me residue of the accelerant used on the fire aboard the Brewer.
Major Mass Spec is back on his game.
He just I.D.'d the residue as the exact same mixture of thermite and fire retardant that Detective King and I identified in the other fires.
Same signature, it's a different arsonist.
Why didn't it do more damage to the ship?
Have a theory, Boss.
Let me show you.
On the deck directly below the machine room is the magazine locker, and it contains thousands of pounds worth of explosives.
There's no way that Abbott could have gained access to that area.
His plan was to ignite the slow-burning, intensely hot thermite fire in the area just above.
When it burned through the deck and hit the magazine below, the ship, would have been severely damaged, maybe even sunk.
Why didn't that happen?
This is a file photo of the machine room.
And here is the point of ignition.
Now, what Abbott didn't realize was, these three tanks contained highly flammable material.
Before the fire could burn below as intended, the tanks ignited and caused the explosion that killed him and Lieutenant Ramsey.
Did you see the John Wayne movie, Hellfighters?
The Duke played Red Adair, the oil well firefighter.
What happened on the ship is exactly what happened when Red used the dynamite.
The explosion created a vacuum, and it sucked out all the oxygen and extinguished the fire.
Lucky.
We getting anywhere decoding the Korean document?
No, but it did come from the same printer and it's the same paper as the shredded document that we found at Bruce Johnson's.
Dusted it and the envelope for prints.
Only got Abbott's.
We also found DNA on the flap of the envelope where someone licked it.
Who?
You got a name?
I ran it through active military and known felons and Interpol.
Nothing yet, but I'll keep trying.
You're welcome.
I was the one who interviewed and hired Tobey Abbott little over a year ago.
What exactly was he doing for your company aboard the USS Brewer?
We did some repairs to the ship's power plant.
It's customary to send a mechanic to make sure everything's working properly under operating conditions.
Do you know what caused the explosion?
Still under investigation.
Why did you select Abbott to go?
He was a good mechanic.
Not our best, more than adequate.
To be honest, he lobbied for the assignment.
Really?
Careful.
I usually have to beg my guys to go out to sea on Navy contracts.
They're not pleasure cruises.
You can be stuck on the ship for weeks waiting until it reaches a port.
Did Abbott say why he wanted to go?
My guess...
unlike most of the others, he was single.
Wasn't leaving a family.
Plus there's a small pay incentive.
You know who he hung with?
Anyone at work?
Tobey could be moody.
Pretty much kept to himself.
If you think of anything else, would you give me call?
Sure.
Did Tobey Abbott speak Korean?
Don't know, but I seriously doubt it.
Thanks.
I found traces of a substance under Mr.
Abbott's fingernails that Abby identifies as the same combination of thermite and fire retardant that's coated Bruce Johnson's body.
One more thing connecting the fires.
The cause of Lieutenant Ramsey's death was blunt force trauma.
He would have survived his burns, but with the force of the explosion, he fractured his skull on a bulkhead.
I found this, in one of his pockets.
Wife's a kid herself, Duck.
I got to go.
You have beautiful children.
I can't believe you're still with Gibbs.
Has he mellowed with age?
What do you think?
Last time I spoke with him was right after Mike Franks died.
He didn't want to talk about it.
He keeps a lot inside.
What's he building in his basement now?
Don't know.
Haven't been down there in a while.
Down where, DiNozzo?
Hi-ya, Boss.
Special Agent Burley.
You got something for us?
Yeah.
Where are you?
Naples, Italy.
I came here to perform a port-threat assessment prior to the arrival of the aircraft carrier, the Benjamin Franklin.
It's due in tomorrow.
And then I got the alert.
The Benjamin Franklin's on the list of marked vessels.
Find something?
I was conducting a search of the warehouse that serves as a collection point for goods and equipment that are going to resupply the ship.
Found an explosive device hidden on a palette.
What kind of device?
Thermite, with a magnesium fuse.
Just like described in the alert.
A nuclear aircraft carrier.
They're upping the stakes.
Andiamo, bambina!
Dove?
Gear up.
We're leaving for Naples.
Naples, Italy?
Si.
I'm going home to grab some clothes.
You should do the same.
We're hopping a military flight from Andrews Air Force Base.
This one of your practical jokes?
Nope.
Gibbs' orders.
It's a good thing you canceled your Pilates weekend.
Who told you?
I'm a very special agent, I have my ways.
Come on.
Wake up.
Get up.
I've got coffee.
I've got Danish.
What do you got?
You're not mad at us for waking you up?
Depends what you found.
Boss, we broke the code on the Korean message.
It took us a long time because, we and the cryptologists thought that it was gonna be really complicated, but it wasn't.
It was actually easy.
Using a Korean-Hangul word processing program, the person who sent the message, typed the words into an English-alphabet keyboard.
But it was printed out in Hangul script.
I'll show you the first line of the document. "
Place the thermite device on the 0-3 deck."
Those characters don't form Korean words, Gibbs.
So it would be meaningless to anyone that was reading Korean.
Reversing the process, decodes the message.
Uncoded, the rest of it instructed Abbott when, where, how to attack the U.S.S.
Brewer.
Don't suppose he was dumb enough to sign it?
Any luck with the DNA on the envelope?
Unfortunately, no.
Good to see you again, DiNozzo.
Hey, how are you?
Special Agent Ziva David.
Agent Burley.
It's a pleasure.
Stan, please.
Welcome to Napoli, the home of Mount Vesuvius, pizza and romance.
I got it, Tony.
Heard a lot about you.
From who?
Abby.
All good.
She never says anything bad about anyone.
I love that woman.
When'd you get here?
Last week.
I was enjoying the weather and cuisine until we were put on alert.
The Benjamin Franklin has arrived.
Yeah, it dropped anchor about an hour ago.
You're the senior field agent in charge.
What's the game plan?
The palette's still in the warehouse.
Thermite's been replaced with an inert, look-alike substance.
It'll be barged out to the ship in a couple hours and put in the cargo bay.
The three of us will board the ship, undercover, as Navy personnel joining the deployment.
Let me help you with that.
We've got a water taxi, it's gonna take us out to the ship.
We're going to stake out the cargo bay and wait to see who comes for the thermite.
And there's over 5000 onboard, we're looking for a needle in a haystack.
Fire on the Brewer was started by a civilian.
A tech rep.
I read the bulletin from headquarters.
I checked, there are 32 civilians on the Benjamin Franklin right now.
The problem is, if we question them, we'll spook whoever it is before they go for the bait.
After you, Ziva.
Stay classy, Stan.
Andiamo.
Morning, Jethro.
Morning, Duck.
Something happen?
No, false alarm.
Aboard a missile frigate off the coast of Diego Garcia.
I just released Ramsey's body for burial at Arlington.
A fully executed copy of my will.
Besides a couple of bequeaths to a nephew in Scotland and my good friends at NCIS, I'm leaving the bulk of my estate to charity.
That's nice.
I was really struck by that photograph of the young lieutenant with his wife and children.
I was, too.
I sent her a note last night.
I was struggling with the decision as to where the money would do the most good there are so many worthy charities.
I had been considering the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation.
They do so much good for Marine Corps families.
They give them the means to send their kids to college.
Seeing Lieutenant Ramsey's young children just made the decision for me.
Yeah, that's nice.
Real nice, Duck.
Got a bogey.
About time.
Getting warmer.
Standing in front of the hatch.
Afraid you weren't gonna show.
You kidding?
Been thinking about you all day.
Did you miss me?
Let's go.
False alarm.
Two young seamen anxious to parallel park.
Busting them is not our problem at the moment.
Where's David with the food?
I don't know.
She probably got lost.
What took you so long?
Do you know they have nine different places to get food on this ship?
I hope you got something good.
Why are you so grumpy?
You should be happy, Petty Officer DiNozzo.
I got it at the officer's mess.
Of course you did.
Because Burley made you an officer and me enlisted.
That's why you're so grumpy.
Now what's wrong with you?
It's just, my stomach's been a little queasy.
Seasick?
We're still at the harbor.
If you tell McGee, I'm gonna post those bikini photos that I have on the agency Web site.
I told you to destroy them.
Well, a man's got to have leverage.
I got to hit the head.
Game's on, Stan.
Okay, he's going for the bait.
Burley?
NCIS!
Stay back!
Okay, this is the only way in or out.
All the other hatches are secure.
Still breathing.
Weapon's gone.
Corpsman's on the way.
How's Burley?
See for yourself.
Navy docs are great.
I'll be okay.
A couple weeks R and R will help.
What's the condition of the suspect?
His name is Andr� Fullerton.
He's a tech rep, employed by an avionics communications firm.
Who put you up to this, Fullerton?
Put me up to what?
Sabotaging a U.S.
Navy ship.
You stabbed a federal agent.
Shouldn't someone be reading me my rights?
You have no rights.
You're a terrorist on a U.S.
Navy ship.
And we're invoking the Patriot Act.
In an hour, you're going to be flown off this ship, escorted by Agent David and myself, to Aviano Air Base, where you're going to board a C-37A and you're going to be flown to Guant�namo Bay, Cuba.
Once there, you're going to be staying at a sunny little seaside resort the locals call Gitmo.
Heard a nasty rumor about what goes on down there.
You'll never be heard from again.
Your friends, your family, they won't know what happened to you.
So I'm going to ask you again.
Who hired you?
You're bluffing.
Agent Gibbs does not bluff.
Can we make some kind of deal?
You're in no position to negotiate.
For the last time, who's behind the terrorist attacks?
You yank him out of that rack, and you put him on a plane.
Hold it!
I'll tell you.
His name's...
Harper Dearing.
Tell us about him.
I don't know anything.
Your memory will improve once you get to Gitmo.
I never saw him.
I spoke to him on the phone.
He explained, after that, he'd only communicate in Korean code.
That's it?
Not good enough.
Enjoy Cuba.
He had what, Northerners would call a slight Southern drawl.
I know.
I'm from Mississippi.
That's all I know.
Why did you do it?
Money.
Lots of money.
Put him on suicide watch.
I want to make sure he gets back here for trial.
You got it.
I've found seven Harper Dearings in the United States.
Four of them either currently reside or were born in the South.
Let's hear it.
Harper Dearing, 48-year-old housewife, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Harper Dearing number two.
He's currently 84, residing in a nursing home for retired clergy.
Next.
Harper Dearing number three.
Second grader in a Little Rock, Arkansas elementary school.
Harper Dearing number four.
61 years old, born in Augusta, Georgia.
Currently resides in Virginia.
Let me hear it.
He's the CEO of Dorado Hills Investments, a multinational venture capital group that specializes in technology companies.
It's HQ in Sterling, Virginia.
Criminal or military record?
Neither.
Why would a corporate executive be terrorizing U.S.
Navy vessels?
Doesn't make sense.
Get his name down to Abby.
She's got a DNA sample from the envelope.
See if she can match it up to him.
And if she can't maybe he's got a close relative whose DNA is on file.
What are you doing?
Cleaning my weapon and waiting for you to get in.
How's Burley?
He's fine.
McGee said Dearing had a son that was in the Navy.
Did you get a DNA match?
I've had people working in the lab all night.
Let me check my e-mail.
I'm having them compare the DNA from the envelope that was found in Abbott's quarters to the DNA of Dearing's son, Evan.
Okay, it's here.
They found a familial match.
There is 99.9% probability that Harper Dearing is your guy.
What's going on?
Where's Dearing's office?
Second floor.
NCIS.
No, no, I'll call you back.
May I help you?
Who are you?
Vincent Maple.
I'm the president of this company.
Where is Dearing?
I have no idea.
Why are you looking for him?
We have a warrant for his arrest.
He's wanted for terrorism and four counts of murder.
Where is he?
I don't know.
I haven't seen or heard from him in over a year.
How do you get in touch with him?
I don't.
Listen up.
For attacks against the United States Navy.
Harper Dearing.
Let's go.
We got work to do.
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