Original subtitles

HAYES: Back, back, back.

RANKIN: Pick him up. Pick him up. - Hey, man.

GILROY: Good shot, captain. Let's go.

RANKIN: Ball out. Ball out. HAYES: What you got, captain?

GILROY: Hayes. When you gonna go up?

RANKIN: I'll wager you, boy. HAYES: Let the man shoot.

RANKIN: This is what I call the half-court martial.

Block this.

RANKIN: Foul. GILROY: No, no way.

RANKIN: Come on. GILROY: Our ball, come on. Let's go.

RANKIN: Incoming! HAYES: Where?

[PEOPLE SCREAMING]

Damn Green Zone.

- You okay? - Yeah.

They should have renamed it the Free Fire Zone.

Question your people.

Where's the captain?

Captain.

Captain.

- Get a corpsman. SOLDIER: Corpsman!

Damn.

ZIVA: For the one you got me last week.

Thank you.

That is quite a kiss, McGee.

Not bad for a wallpaper, huh?

Well, you seem to be enjoying yourself.

I have never seen a tongue quite so long.

McGee has a long tongue?

No, but the cutie pie he's kissing does.

McGee's kissing a girl?

You can't see it, Tony.

- Why not? - This is McGee's private photograph.

And if he does not want you to see it here,

then you have to respect his wishes.

Or see it elsewhere.

McGEE: - Hey. - McRomeo.

You should save that stuff for the bedroom.

You're just jealous.

Jealous? I don't think so.

What you're doing could be illegal in some states.

NIKKl: Or should be.

I think I need to wash.

Boss, you gotta check this out.

GIBBS: No, I don't.

Yeah, Gibbs.

DUCKY: I have something you need to see.

Be right down.

At least you don't have to pay alimony, McGee.

Meet Marine Corps Captain John Rankin.

Poor fellow travelled further than most of our guests to be here.

- From? - Baghdad.

Captain was caught in a mortar attack.

Dangerous place.

You know, I was almost killed by a mortar once.

I was attending the demonstration of a new type of 4.2 shell

to senior military officials.

Lots of medals and fancy caps.

Damn thing misfired.

Fortunately, my services were not required.

But I digress.

SECNAV's office called.

It seems strings were pulled to get Captain Rankin to me

rather than to one of the Armed Forces medical examiners.

Because?

Because, Jethro, even in war, death can be deceptive.

What do you see there?

Multiple shrapnel wounds.

Yes, but in this case,

all of these wounds were made by a single projectile.

The captain was likely bent over,

perhaps ducking for cover as the round landed.

It pierced his left side, nicked his small intestine,

tore through his abdomen and lodged in his right thigh.

Didn't call me for that.

No. Not that, Jethro.

For this.

Captain Rankin didn't die from the mortar attack.

The poor fellow was shot.

Oh, what happened, McGee? No pictures of your girlfriend?

My dog's name is Jethro, Tony.

Jethro. It's a boy, not a girl.

Oh, hey. Whatever your preference.

Pictures of your boytriend then.

[BARKING]

[TONY FEIGNS LAUGH]

That's very funny.

Fix it.

You're barking up the wrong tree.

Is that how you wanna play this?

Because I can play it that way.

[BARKING]

GIBBS: DiNozzo. - Boss, it's a new computer.

It's top-secret, super spy software called Guard Dog.

Come on, McGee, tell me you got something better for me than that.

Absolutely I do, boss. Baghdad.

Area inside the green lines is the International Zone or I.Z.

Used to be called Green Zone.

Central Baghdad. Many of Saddam's palaces are there.

I stayed in one of those palaces after Baghdad was liberated.

Me too. Before Baghdad was liberated.

Got a murdered Marine downstairs.

McGEE: Considered the safest place in Baghdad.

But you all know that

because you have already been to Baghdad.

This is where Captain Rankin was killed playing basketball.

It's deep inside the I.Z.

Mortar rounds fired just before Rankin was shot

came from around here.

ZIVA: Shot during a mortar attack.

- Coincidence? TONY: No such thing.

- Someone went to a lot to set that up. - Made it look like a terrorist attack.

Okay, motive?

Rankin was a real-estate investor.

Worth millions by the time he was 30. Had it all.

- Fancy car, house on the vineyard. - Trophy wife?

McGEE:lt was the wife who pulled strings to get Ducky to do the autopsy.

How's a guy like that end up in Iraq?

Reserve officer. He was called up.

TONY: Those guys can make enemies fast.

Start throwing their weight around, trying to get respect from enlisted men.

DINA: He wasn't like that.

And you are?

The trophy wife.

DINA: You don't have to say it.

I know he was murdered.

I've known all along.

Get too rich too fast, you make enemies.

Anyone in particular?

Maybe.

You got a name?

Kelvin Ridgeway.

How'd your husband know him?

Through friends.

We ended up buying a piece of land together.

Cloverfield.

We put in half the down payment, got half the equity.

That's a good deal.

Not if it cost John his life.

Agreement was being finalised when John got sent to Iraq.

The paperwork followed him.

He signed the contract but then at the last second,

decided not to send it back.

Something changed his mind?

My husband used to get these gut feelings.

You ever have one of those?

Yeah, once or twice.

The last time we spoke, he told me he had one.

About?

Kelvin Ridgeway.

How well did you know Captain Rankin, Major Varnai?

VARNAl: As well as I know any man in my unit, sir.

- What kind of officer was he? - A good one.

That your opinion or somebody else?

Everybody liked him. He was popular with his men.

That kind of guy.

That kind of guy had a bullet in his back.

You know how hard it is to get into the Zone these days?

IDs, photos, fingerprints, biometrics.

What you're saying is

you've got a shooter with a security clearance.

You have an insurgency problem in the Zone, Major Varnai?

That sniper picks off more of our men, I guess we do.

If not, it sounds like Captain Rankin is the only one with the problem.

A Marine was murdered on your watch.

And I've lost two more since then.

Blown away by roadside bombs.

That's part of our reality out here, sir.

Doesn't mean I like it.

Thank you for your time, major.

You want me to brief the in-country rack?

No.

Marine gets murdered serving his country.

- He deserves a thorough investigation. - And he'll get one.

But the SECNAV wants us handling this case.

Who do you think I should send?

They're gonna send one of us to Iraq.

Why would you wanna go to Baghdad?

You're gonna get bombed and shot at.

Everyone has gone except for me.

I've never been.

By everyone I mean Tony and Ziva and Gibbs.

Gibbs must have gone to Iraq dozens of times.

I just wanna go once.

- To earn your stripes? - Yeah, to prove myself.

- To die? - I'm not gonna die in Baghdad.

Thing is, before I go, they have to choose me.

Why don't you just go talk to the director?

- Or our acting director? - Assistant director.

- Right, Leon. - I can't.

Tony says if I really wanna go, then I shouldn't volunteer.

But if he says I shouldn't volunteer, then he thinks I will volunteer,

which means that if I really wanna go, I shouldn't volunteer.

That's good, Timmy.

It sounds like you're not doing exactly what you shouldn't.

- Nikki. - Ziva.

ZIVA: What do you have there? - It's nothing.

"Five Reasons Why I Should be Picked to go to Iraq."

You've heard the rumours too.

You do know that Iraq is a war zone?

Nikki, it is dirty there.

Sanitation is very poor.

And diseases. Have you heard of leishmaniasis?

It begins with a large, oozing sore, often in the face and then it just:

[ZIVA MAKES SUCKING NOISE]

- Oh, I have photos I can show you. - No.

Thank you for your concern, but I still really wanna go.

In that case, I hope you can handle competition.

A lot better than you can handle handles.

What can I tell that you don't already know?

I had the inside scoop. Rankin had money.

- We were all gonna be rich. - Rankin was already rich.

But you can never be too rich. Or thin.

It's a cliché, but I'm right? Am I right?

- Thank you, sweetie pants. GIRL:You're welcome, Mr. Ridgeway.

GIBBS: I heard he wasn't very happy at the end.

He's one of those glass half-empty kind of guys.

He questioned every little, stupid detail.

- You sound pissed. - Men have been murdered for less.

Yes, men have.

But I'm not an ordinary man.

That's what I've been told, you know what I'm saying?

His wife said he didn't like you very much.

So what, who cares?

I care more what she thinks of me than my business partner.

I hope you don't care too much.

You know how we talk to women, right, Agent--? What is it?

- Gibbs. - Right.

We just didn't see eye to eye. He'd complain to his wife about me.

And I complained to my girlfriend about him.

Like I would assume you complain to your wife about this one.

GIBBS: Her?

[GIBBS CHUCKLING]

Oh, no. I wouldn't mess with her.

KELVIN: Yeah? Well, why would you say that?

McGee, you're looking very guilty over there.

You didn't do that thing I told you not to do, did you?

Why would I do that? Did you do that?

Gibbs back yet?

McGEE: Well, just arrived, sir.

Assistant director, I was wondering if I could talk to you.

- About? - Iraq.

If anyone is going to go to Iraq, I really believe it should be me.

It is my area of expertise. I have a lot of contacts there.

- As do I. - My contacts are still breathing.

As are most of mine.

Plus I speak Arabic fluently.

I speak Arabic and Kurdish.

I am not afraid to get my hands dirty.

GIBBS: I told you.

I'm glad you both are so eager to take on

what will, no doubt, be a very difficult mission.

I want a thorough investigation and a quick resolution.

- McGee. - Yes, sir.

LEON: Disappointed. You're the only one who didn't volunteer.

Missions like this give an agent an opportunity to prove himself.

But Tony, he didn't volunteer either.

He spoke to me earlier.

- DiNozzo, pack your bags. - Thank you, sir.

David, sending an Israeli to Baghdad?

I don't think so.

DiNozzo, make sure Agent Jardine gets back in one piece.

You got it, sir.

Plane to Baghdad takes off in less than two hours.

Get moving.

McGEE: World clocks.

Wouldn't be checking the time in Iraq, would you?

Don't know what you're talking about.

Iraq's not so great.

And the whole trip is probably a big waste of time.

Murderer's probably here.

Awfully long gun barrel if that is true.

Captain Rankin's wife thinks it has something to do with that land deal.

- So she says. - Think she did it?

She is the one that called us.

Well, it would not be the first time

a murderer tried to throw us up that way.

Off. Throw us off.

Exactly.

However, Kelvin Ridgeway is guilty of more than just being a pig.

Of that, I am sure.

You know what, I checked Captain Rankin's phone records

from Iraq.

Two days before he was killed, he called three people.

His wife, Dina, his partner, Kelvin Ridgeway,

and this guy, George Stenner.

He owns a small company called Land Test Labs.

They do soil testing.

Rankin called Stenner three times the day he was killed.

Gibbs is definitely gonna wanna talk to him.

By the way, it's been 45 minutes.

Excuse me?

Since Nikki and Tony arrived in Baghdad.

- Which would place them at-- - Their hotel.

SOLDIER: Back to group territory, now.

VARNAl: This is it.

Welcome to the Baghdad Hilton.

Overflow accommodations. Best we can offer.

Unpack. Get comfortable.

Wouldn't get too comfortable.

TONY: Yeah.

It's just like home.

If you live in an airport.

Got a problem, Jardine?

I just thought I'd have a little more privacy.

Where do you think you're going?

Just got off a transatlantic flight. Need a shower.

Yeah, well, crime scenes don't wait. Showers do.

Besides, not even I would shower in that.

It's gonna be a long week.

[TONY SNIFFING]

VARNAl: Squared away?

Yeah. Ready to roll.

You're not gonna need all that stuff. This is the I.Z.

Thirty-five mortars were fired into the International Zone

on a single day last July.

Dozens more in the year since.

You do what you want.

I'll wear the helmet.

Why the hell are you here? Really?

Because it's gonna look really good on my résumé.

That's not why she's here.

VARNAl: Lock it up. SOLDIER: Roger that, major.

The court where it happened.

Sergeant Jim Gilroy.

Other guy's a contract worker, Allan Hayes.

They were both with Captain Rankin when he got hit.

Knock yourselves out.

Charming.

Knows how to make you feel welcome.

Well, it's stressful out here.

Maybe a coping mechanism, you know?

Shutting off his emotions to get the job done.

Good morning, Baghdad.

Agent DiNozzo, NCIS.

You two were playing basketball with Captain Rankin when he was killed?

GILROY: Major says he was shot, sir. That true?

That depends. Do you hear a shot?

GILROY: All I heard were mortars, sir.

TONY: Good officer? - Yes, sir.

Proud to serve with him.

TONY: You two notice anything out of the ordinary that day?

GILROY: No, sir.

We were just playing ball, heard the incoming and hit the ground.

I was right next to him.

Anyone have a grudge against Captain Rankin?

No, sir. Very well-liked.

Good Marine officer.

Yeah, you keep saying that.

How about you?

HAYES:I didn't know him so well. Not enlisted.

We've been playing a pickup game here.

Guy seemed cool. He was a pretty good shooter.

Where was he when he was killed?

HAYES: Free throw line.

TONY:Which way was he facing? - The hoop.

TONY: That would make sense.

All right.

[CLICK]

Hit in the lower back on the left side.

Right out in the open.

Bullet was fired from a height. Could be any of those.

- What's that over there, major? - That's a hotel.

TONY: And next to it?

VARNAl: Family residence, maybe.

- All right, thank you guys very much. GILROY: No problem.

TONY: So tell me about the mortar attack.

We found the launcher. Plastic tubes.

Welded frame.

Sixty-millimetre, small stuff. Not as deadly as some.

- And the guy behind it? - Local haji.

Insurgent.

- You caught him? - Not quick enough.

Tribal militia got to him first.

- Are they on our side? - They're controlled by a local sheik.

Think neighbourhood watch with AK-47s.

I need to talk to him.

Know any good mediums?

Convenient.

The one guy who can tell us who killed Rankin is 6 feet under.

Four feet around here.

[NIKKl SPEAKING ARABIC]

GIBBS: No need, Mr. Stenner. Sit down.

I don't understand-- I mean, can you tell me why I'm--?

- Are you nervous? - No.

Yeah. I mean, yeah, a little.

- Can I go to the bathroom? - In a minute.

Okay.

So...

Why did John Rankin call you last Monday?

Day before he was killed?

He's dead?

I know that already. Just can't believe--

- Answer. - He had this piece of land.

- Cloverfield. - Yeah.

Yeah.

So a few weeks ago, he called me to do some soil testing on it.

And he didn't want anyone to know about it.

What'd you find?

That the land was contaminated.

Heavy metals, mostly. Lead.

Other things that are harmful to people.

Children especially.

What'd Rankin say?

He said that he was gonna tear up the contract.

You know, he seemed really angry with his business partner.

Who else saw the report?

No one. No, it was secret.

I only made one copy and I sent it to him in Iraq.

I need a copy.

No problem. I'll e-mail it right over.

Can I please go to the bathroom really quick?

- No. - Okay.

I'm kidding. You can go.

Thanks.

[CLICKING]

Bang. Shot came from here.

TONY: Jardine.

Up here.

Shell casing.

Yeah, 7.62. It's not one of ours.

I need to know who had access to this room.

I don't have a terp here.

Terp? Is that Varnai-speak for interpreter?

Which case,

Jardine, would you ask our friend here who had access to this room?

[NIKKl SPEAKING ARABIC]

[BOTH SPEAKING ARABIC]

She says the man who lived here died.

His brother, Ali Mahmoud, is the only other person with the key.

Can she get him for us?

[BOTH SPEAKING ARABIC]

She says Ali hasn't shown up here since the mortar attack.

Big surprise.

[SPEAKING ARABIC]

But she does know where he lives.

It's all here. Just like Stenner said.

Heavy contaminations of lead, cadmium and zinc in the soil.

Reason enough for Rankin to want out of the deal.

Think Ridgeway knew and was trying to get Rankin to sign the deal

before he found out?

I'll check on Ridgeway's phone records,

see who he's been calling.

VARNAl: First squad, forward security.

Second squad, rear security.

TONY: You stay close, do as I say.

NIKKl: Don't worry, I will.

Open door left. Open door right.

Clear!

[WOMAN SPEAKING ARABIC]

What is she saying? Where is he?

She keeps saying we're too late.

Too late for what?

[BOTH SPEAKING ARABIC]

Several hooded men beat Ali.

They took him away in handcuffs last night.

Who was it? The police?

[SPEAKING ARABIC]

No, she doesn't think so.

[BOTH SPEAKING ARABIC]

Let me guess. More good news?

She thinks they're gonna execute him.

Great.

TONY: That's it. NIKKl: Yes, yes.

TONY: Come on, that's it. - Yes.

TONY: Yeah. - Yeah.

TONY: That's it. Amazing.

That's amazing.

NIKKl: Nice.

Off goes my little e-mail chickadee to Abby.

Three bars.

That's pretty good. Five?

I only almost touched you.

There was no:

You know, for someone who hates germs so much,

you're really quite a slob.

One has nothing to do with the other.

Right.

Since we're on the subject of things that make absolutely no sense at all,

wanna tell me the truth?

Maybe we could find out why you're here.

I told you.

The Middle East is my area of expertise.

I'm here because it's professionally advantageous.

Is that why you were making a call in Arabic on the basketball court?

Because it was professionally advantageous?

Wow, never thought it was possible to hurt yourself with a wet wipe.

I have a brother.

He's a Marine.

He was here in Baghdad two years ago.

- He was wounded. - Oh.

I just wanted to see where it happened.

We're very close and I just need to experience what he--

[BEEPING]

All right. Here we go.

ABBY: Tony. Is that really you?

Move back so we can see your face.

- Hi. TONY: Hi, good-looking.

I missed you.

Is Neat Nut Nikki driving you crazy?

Actually, she's right here and she's not as neat as you think.

Sorry, Nikki.

I don't really think that you're a nut.

Just, you know, that you're neat.

Not neat like cool, but neat like, you know, neat.

Not that you're not cool.

- You're just-- - It's okay.

- I didn't know you're sharing a room. - They're sharing a room?

We're not exactly sharing a room.

Either they are sharing a room or they're not sharing a room.

I don't see what is so exact or not exact about it.

TONY: Abs, did you get my scan of the bullet casing?

Oh, done and done.

I ran it through the Central Command database.

They fingerprint everybody that works or lives at the I.Z.

Let me guess. It's a fingerprint that belongs to Ali Mahmoud?

That's him.

He's an Iraqi national.

And he is working in the I.Z. as a maintenance guy.

He's 25 years old. Part of the Al Shammar tribe.

That's one of the most prominent tribes in Iraq.

No criminal convictions,

but his brother was killed in crossfire about a month ago.

Rankin's squad was involved.

Ali may have snapped and killed Rankin.

So you got any leads on Ali's whereabouts?

McGEE: Tony, you're in the same city as him.

We're ten time zones away. Why were you sent to Iraq again?

Good question.

Well, let us know.

And put my Kill Bill mug back on my desk, McGee.

Major, a man in your unit was murdered.

Is there a reason you don't wanna find out who did it?

Sure, I do.

I'd also like the war to end, the electricity to work,

and for all the tribes to get along.

One of my contacts, his family's part of Al Shammar tribe.

Same tribe as Ali. It's a long shot, but--

Iraqi are so close-knit, one of them stubs a toe in the shower,

by the time he's dry, five of his cousins are at his front door to ask if he's okay.

[NIKKl SPEAKING ARABIC]

VARNAl: She's messy.

- Obsessively. - Found him.

My contact knows one of the men who abducted him.

- It's the talk of the neighbourhood. - Need an address.

[NIKKl SPEAKING ARABIC]

- He said he can take us there. VARNAl: Hold up.

Nobody's driving into the party zone this time of night.

Trail's gonna go cold.

The trail, Agent DiNozzo, is filled with roadside bombs and snipers

who just love to pick off vacationing warriors like yourself

in the dark of the night.

And while I wouldn't mind sacrificing you to them,

I have a family I'd like to return to.

Eventually.

Pick you up at first light.

GIBBS: Anything yet?

Yeah, I got Kelvin Ridgeway's phone records.

Like anyone would wanna talk to that man.

McGEE: Well, apparently Captain Rankin did.

He called Ridgeway twice the day before he died.

If Rankin told him he was pulling out of the deal...

Gives Ridgeway time to organise the hit.

If Tony and Nikki could just find our trigger man in Iraq.

All we have to do is confirm who hired him.

Get me Ridgeway.

Marines call this Fool's Crossing.

Insurgents like to stop our troops with lDF or an lED,

finish the job off with SAF.

They set off a roadside bomb

when you stop your convoy, they shoot at you.

Finish the job.

- What the hell? TONY: Jardine, where are you going?

VARNAl: Dismount, secure the area. - Hey.

VARNAl: Go. Go. Go.

TONY: Jardine. VARNAl: Agent Jardine.

TONY: Jardine. VARNAl: Jardine!

Jardine. Get down!

[SHOUTING & GUNFIRE IN NIKKl'S MIND]

TONY: Nikki.

What are you doing?

SOLDIER: Stop.

Hey.

NIKKl: Wait.

Jameel.

[SPEAKING ARABIC]

It's good to meet you finally.

Come. Meet my friends.

Tony, Major Varnai, this is my contact.

Jameel Al-Farhad.

Peace to you.

And to you.

A word.

You do not break protocol. You put everyone in danger.

What's going on here? What is really going on?

- I told you. - No, the truth.

This is where it happened, okay?

This is where my brother was shot.

And your contact here?

He and his family saw it happen.

- And that's it? - No.

We're here because he is going to help us find Ali.

Jameel, your English is very good.

I learn in school.

I also teach my sister.

NIKKl: Hi.

They don't teach English to the girls?

She doesn't go to school anymore.

Not since my fathers dies.

I help her little bit I can.

Let's go. We're Oscar Mike.

NIKKl: Come on.

Does anybody wanna tell me what I'm doing here?

Sure.

We know about the soil test Captain Rankin had done

on Cloverfield.

Heavy metals.

Cadmium, lead, trace elements of zinc.

I don't know what you're talking about.

You knew Cloverfield was contaminated, Mr. Ridgeway.

Knew that Rankin wouldn't be part of your deal if he found out.

Must have really irked you to hear that he had done his own soil tests.

So what? What is it that you think that I did?

Had Captain Rankin killed.

Yes. Nice speculation.

Had a motive.

He was about to mess up your deal.

Okay, when you find the guy in Iraq who pulled the trigger,

he's gonna tell you the same thing.

I had nothing to do with it.

We got agents on their way there right now

to talk to the shooter as we speak.

You don't mind waiting, do you?

[MAN SPEAKING ARABIC]

Come to Baghdad because you wanna see a show?

You're about to get one.

[SPEAKING ARABIC]

I'm guessing he's not complimenting my vest.

He seems to know your mother very intimately.

[BOTH SPEAKING ARABIC]

[VARNAl SPEAKING ARABIC]

[MAN SPEAKING ARABIC]

NIKKl: He says we can go in.

Wakey, wakey, sunshine.

[PHONE RINGING]

Yeah, Gibbs.

We got a problem, boss.

Our suspect's not about to talk.

His tongue's been cut out.

[CLICKING]

NIKKl: The guard said he hasn't checked on Ali since last night.

Yeah? You believe him?

Jameel does.

TONY: You don't know this Jameel very well, do you?

I know he's a good kid.

You think he's a good kid.

And I think the guard is telling the truth.

He says he brought Ali dinner,

then later heard him yelling and crying but didn't come in to check.

I'd be yelling and crying too if my tongue was being cut out.

These tribal guys don't mess around.

Tribal? I don't think so.

Tongue cut out?

They didn't want him to talk. It's a sign.

But not one that this tribe uses.

The tongue thing tells me that the person who killed Ali

doesn't know much about tribal culture.

Didn't think we would either.

You mean someone like the major?

He knew where Ali was being held.

Heard you say it on the phone last night.

You really think he might--?

If we can establish time of death, it might help us find out.

Right, Tony, you take two temperatures.

The room where the body lies and the body itself.

Comparing the two will give you the time you want.

DUCKY: First should be easy.

The second only slightly more complicated.

What are my choices?

Well, you're gonna need a thermometer.

- Got one. - Good.

And you'll need a sharp knife of some sort.

TONY: Got one of those too.

What do I need a knife for?

So you can cut into the body, dear boy.

Ready to go?

Excuse me, Ducky. Major Varnai, this is a crime scene.

This is Baghdad, Agent DiNozzo.

The whole place is a crime scene.

A Few Good Men.

- What? - Jack Nicholson.

I knew he reminded me of somebody.

Ducky, I'm gonna have to call you back.

- There's someone I need to talk to. - Ducky, wait.

Tony, I can do it.

Germs.

- Gloves. - Good luck with that.

Nikki, are you there?

I'm ready, Ducky.

TONY: You never liked Captain Rankin, did you, major?

You prefer tough guys.

He was a reserve officer, too soft.

They don't know what they're doing out here.

Guys like that put the rest of you in danger, huh?

Like you've been doing, Agent DiNozzo?

You didn't want us to come here today.

You tried to keep us from finding Ali

and you certainly didn't seem surprised to find him dead.

Told you, it's a violent culture.

Yep, maybe it is.

Or maybe last night when you heard where he was being held,

you came out here.

You acted like you don't understand Arabic,

but you do.

You had the time, major, and the access.

Semper fi, Agent DiNozzo.

Words to live and die by out here.

I wouldn't kill a fellow Marine.

Even if you didn't think he was a real Marine?

Your feelings, not mine.

Some of my best men are reservists.

NIKKl: Tony. - Is this something I need to hear now?

Yeah. The body.

Ali was killed four hours ago.

TONY: Yeah?

Well, Major Varnai has been with us all morning.

- This four-hour thing, sure about that? - Yes.

- Really, really sure? - Yes.

Sorry about that. Just doing my job.

[TONY CHUCKLES]

I hate it when that happens.

Awkward moments.

You all right?

It's just so oppressive in there.

Smell of death.

No, it's that awful chemical smell.

- Chemicals? - Turpentine.

I'm hypersensitive.

I usually only have this problem in new buildings.

Construction workers use it all the time.

Construction.

Have you reacted since we've been here?

Happened yesterday on the basketball court

when you were talking to those witnesses.

Wasn't one of them a construction worker?

[PHONE RINGS]

- McGee. - Hey, I need to talk to the big man.

Tony, hold on. Let me put you on speaker.

I need a background check.

U.S. citizen, Allan Hayes. He works here in Baghdad.

- What do you got on him, Tony? - Bad smell, boss.

Nikki picked up his scent at the crime scene.

Allan Michael Hayes, 27 years old.

Has a police record: Petty thefts, one aggravated assault.

Working for a construction company in Baghdad.

He was with Rankin when he was killed.

GIBBS: Come on, DiNozzo. You gotta give me more than that.

Not done yet here, boss.

Got a link to the Iraqi database.

Allan Hayes under investigation.

Suspected of paying bribes

to a number of Iraqi nationals in the I.Z.

Including none other than Ali Mahmoud.

It wasn't a bribe. It was a hit fee.

- DiNozzo, get me Hayes. - You got it.

It's too late, boss.

Hayes got on a flight out of Iraq two hours ago.

Arrives in D.C. at 18:00.

You and Jardine are on the first flight back.

- Move it. - On our way.

Let's get the hell out of here.

Need to find out if Hayes acted alone.

Ridgeway's phone records.

In the weeks prior to Rankin's death,

Ridgeway called George Stenner six times.

Ridgeway said that he didn't know about Stenner or the soil tests.

Captain Rankin's personal effects.

Get me the Cloverfield file.

Ready?

Yeah. Just about.

So, major, when are you heading home?

Five months, 16 days, two hours.

Ready.

- Good. - Good.

Except for a small favour.

Just a little detour.

You do remember Major Varnai telling us

this was one of the most dangerous areas in Baghdad?

Because I remember it as if it was this morning.

Oh, wait a second. It was this morning.

Which makes me wonder.

Why are we here now?

Hey. Oh, no, no, no.

You don't get out of the vehicle. These guys freak when you do that.

When Eric was shot, he almost died.

A local man ran out,

started giving him CPR.

More Marines arrived.

They saw Eric down, saw an Iraqi standing over him.

They thought he was an insurgent and...

That was Jameel's father.

There is no way I can repay the family.

But I can at least make it a little easier for one of them to communicate

with the outside world.

Perimeter.

VARNAl: Dismount. Secure the area.

NIKKl: Jameel.

[JAMEEL & NIKKl SPEAKING IN ARABIC]

Tabina.

[JAMEEL SPEAKING ARABIC]

[SPEAKS ARABIC]

[TABINA SPEAKING ARABIC]

McGEE: Boss, got the Cloverfield file from Rankin's effects.

The contract he signed is missing.

Ridgeway was desperate to get a signed contract back.

He must've paid Hayes to kill Rankin, then steal it.

Hayes probably has it.

McGee.

McGEE: Stenner's report on the soil test.

Ziva.

McGEE: Same report Stenner gave us.

Heavy metal contaminations.

Well, it appears Rankin did his own research.

Title searches from the 1920s.

Looks like there used to be a ceramics factory on the site.

Ceramics means lead.

So why would Rankin do his own research

after he got Stenner's report?

- Gut feeling. - You got a gut feeling, boss?

Oh, yeah. But Captain Rankin did too.

Ziva, find Stenner.

McGee, let's go.

McGEE: Thanks.

Hayes just cleared customs.

Think Ridgeway will meet him here to pick up the contract?

What makes you think that Ridgeway did it, McGee?

- There he is. - Hold on, hold on.

Let's go.

Hello, Mr. Stenner.

This is not what you think.

Who are these guys?

- Guessing you two have met before? - Yeah, years ago.

Worked for the same construction company.

- Is that a crime? - No, no. Murder is.

There's different results here.

Your report, Stenner, no mention of the Cloverfield contamination.

You switched the report after you killed Captain Rankin.

- I didn't kill Rankin. - No, you paid Ali Mahmoud to do it.

And then you killed him.

This is all his idea.

I needed the money, okay?

I showed Ridgeway my findings

and he wanted Rankin to sign the contract

so he paid me to doctor the report.

McGEE: Rankin did his own research.

When he challenged your findings,

you contacted your old buddy Hayes here in Iraq.

Arranged a mortar attack as cover.

Hayes paid Ali to shoot Rankin,

then you silenced Ali and swapped the reports.

STENNER: Rankin was gonna investigate me.

I would've lost my business, ruined my life.

You just did that yourself.

WOMAN [ON PA]: Dr. Peterson to NICU.

Dr. Peterson to NICU.

DOCTOR: Welcome back. - Thank you.

How's he been?

Same as ever.

Hey, Eric.

So I met Jameel.

He has a sister.

She is so sweet.

They were so proud when I told them that you were doing okay.

Oh, I got this amazing CD.

You're gonna love it.

Reminds me of the time that weekend

that Mom and Dad took us camping.

Remember?

[SOFT R&B SONG PLAYING ON STEREO]

Remember?