Original subtitles

Careful, now. This is why we came in early...

so we can get it right before your inspection.

And I really appreciate it,

- Master Sergeant. - Don't kiss my ass.

Just get it right.

Now, remember your breath.

Don't tense up.

But don't be too loose either.

Firm, but gentle.

Like you're petting a baby kitten.

Guess you didn't grow up with kittens.

I had a turtle.

Well, go on.

Fuse is not gonna collect itself.

If that was live, we'd be lights-out.

I know, Master Sergeant, and I really appreciate the...

Are you kidding me, private?

Literally everything

in this room was designed to kill you.

I swear you'd lose your ass if it wasn't attached.

Sorry.

Well, is there a problem, private?

All right, all right. Relax, relax. Take a deep breath.

Let me, uh, let me see what I can find out.

Any of you hearing any chatter?

Uh, can you be a little more specific?

Yeah, 'cause if it's about the omelet bar in the cafeteria,

I think we can finally let that dream die.

No, no, not breakfast. Army CID.

You mean, NCIS in camo?

Those guys. Last time we had a joint case with the Army,

it turned into a full-blown turf war.

Yeah, I know. This is not about a case.

They're facing a RIF.

Reduction in force?

Rumor is...

they're shutting down the whole agency.

The entire Criminal Investigative Division?

- Says who? - I got my sources.

It's the whole agency we're talking about here.

Like, thousands of jobs and cases. I'm sure,

if this was real, Vance would've said something.

Yeah, assuming Vance is still saying anything to anyone.

I've barely seen him lately.

Yeah, rumor has it that

the Army CID is shutting down.

And handing their caseload to us.

Wait, NCIS is picking up CID's slack?

So you have heard something?

Same whispers, yeah.

But I've been around long enough to know

that rumors are like mold.

You give them oxygen, they spread.

Good morning. We're looking for Special Agent Jessica Knight.

Okay. Who's asking?

Army Criminal Investigative Division, ma'am.

Your assistance has been requested at Fort Belvoir.

Urgent situation.

What kind of situation?

We're not at liberty to say,

but you'll be read in once you get there.

I guess you'd better go.

Keep us posted.

CID's already asking for help with their cases?

This mean the rumors are true?

Not sure, but I think I know why they want Knight.

"Standoff at Fort Belvoir."

Remember, be the arrow.

Y'all are the tip, shaft, and fletching. I'm the bow.

And on my command, we fly.

- Go. - Major Malone?

NCIS Special Agent Knight. Hear you're looking for me.

Agent Knight. Glad you could join us. Let's get to work.

Still waiting on a sitrep.

Male suspect. Clearly agitated.

Held two men at gunpoint in the ammo warehouse.

Let them go and barricaded himself inside.

Then I'm gonna need a phone with a recorded line,

warehouse schematics, and, uh, eyes on any surveillance feeds.

Is there a problem?

Oh, I'd call it more of a misunderstanding, Agent Knight.

Well, my understanding is that I'm here for a reason.

I'm a trained negotiator.

Well, you were brought here for a reason.

Just not that one.

Negotiations are my job.

So, what then... am I here for the snacks?

Almost. Well, you are the snack.

Come again?

Some suspects ask for pizza or burgers.

But this guy is sitting

on enough munitions to level a city block,

and he only made one request.

You.

Did he say why?

Claims he's your little brother.

- Delta, stand by. - Yes, sir.

Okay.

So, you don't have a little brother.

Uh, no. Just an older brother in Houston

and a younger sister that lives at an ashram in India.

Well, this guy was very insistent, so if he's not

a relative, who the hell is he?

There's only one way to find out.

Hold up.

We still don't know who this guy is or what his endgame is.

But he's agitated, disoriented.

You're walking in cold.

So I need to be crystal clear about protocol.

I'm not here to freelance. I'm here to make contact.

Well, I get that. But in this tent,

I'm Fred, you're Ginger.

I lead. You follow.

Oh.

Well, then just don't step on my toes.

This better be Agent Knight.

It is.

Now I need to know who I'm speaking to.

Jess? Uh...

It's, um, it's me.

Ryan. Uh, Ryan Harper.

Ryan Harper?

My old informant?

Yeah.

You remember what you used to call me?

"Little brother." Your code name.

-We took down that drug ring -Yeah, and you got me out.

You know, you said I deserved a shot at something better.

Yeah, so you joined the Army.

You know, this is a pretty big production, uh,

just to get in touch with me.

Uh... Yeah, well, I, uh,

I tried calling your cell, but I guess you changed

your number, so, uh,

I just, uh... Look, uh,

I just, I really...

I really need someone that I can trust right now.

So, how about you start by telling me

what the hell is going on.

'Cause the guy I knew risked his life to wear a wire,

not to hold a warehouse hostage.

I... I don't want to hurt anyone.

You know? I just... I thought this place would be empty.

You know? Somewhere I could just

go and-and clear my head.

And then those two soldiers came,

and-and I-and I-and I pulled my gun.

And-and...

It was a mistake.

It was-it was a stupid, stupid mistake.

And you let them go. That was good.

Yeah, but then the MPs showed up

and CID right after them, which is bad.

So why is that bad?

What happened right before you got to the warehouse?

No! No. No, not-not with CID listening.

I-I can't trust them. I can't trust anyone but you.

Then come out and we will talk.

I-I can't do that. No, you have to come in.

And turn a standoff into a hostage situation?

Not happening.

Okay, how about we not take out our frustrations

- on things that go boom. - I am trying, Jess.

I am, but it's just, uh,

it's all messed-up. I-I need help.

And I'm here to help you.

So, please, just calm down and talk to me.

You say you trust me? Prove it.

Go-go see Evelyn first, then call me back.

Who's Evelyn?

That's his mother. She lives in Suffolk.

I can have an NCIS team at her house in 20 minutes.

Maybe she'll tell us something.

Uh, I doubt that.

According to Sergeant Harper's files,

his mother died last October.

If your pal

doesn't stop throwing around high-grade ordnance

and asking for dead relatives,

we may have to end this the hard way.

Okay, Alpha, head to high ground.

Major Malone, I think we should slow our roll here.

We don't have a roll.

I have a disturbed suspect in a room full of munitions.

Sergeant Harper isn't trying to hurt anyone. Let me try

and figure out why he is in full meltdown.

Who is he to you?

I told you. A former CI.

I never had a CI request me by name at a standoff.

Seven years ago,

Harper put himself in danger to do the right thing.

Ten months wearing a wire, his life on the line every day,

and he only got through that

because he trusted me to have his back.

And I owe him the same thing now.

I don't have that luxury.

To me, he's a loose flame in a powder keg.

Harper mentioned his mother. We need to follow up on that.

It could be the key to getting him out alive.

Look, you are welcome to wait by the phone

in case he says something useful.

But I've got a job to do.

Your lead, Fred.

Mm.

Sniper moving into position.

Copy that, Tac Team.

McGee? I need a favor, fast.

Evelyn Harper.

This was her place. Title's in her son's name now.

Doesn't look like anyone's lived here for a while.

Oh, Harper probably lives on base.

Yep. Enlisted at 19.

Artillery specialist. Two tours.

So he knows explosives.

- I kick, you go. - Yeah.

NCIS!

Appears we just swatted a pinball machine.

Not just a pinball machine,

a Ducati and a Jet Ski.

We thinking Sergeant Harper won the Showcase Showdown here?

Well, Price is Right doesn't shoot in Virginia. I've checked.

How does an E-5 sergeant in the Army

afford all this stuff?

And why does he want Knight to find it?

That stuff's not mine.

Not on Army pay, it isn't. How'd you get it?

That's the thing, Jess. I didn't get it.

Is that why you wanted us to find it?

You think someone planted it?

It is much bigger than that, all right?

No one's gonna believe me.

I believe you. That's why you called me, right?

That's why you sent me to the house.

It doesn't end at the house, all right? They're gonna f...

Oh, they're gonna f-find...

Ryan, what are they gonna find?

Someone's using me!

Ryan, tell me what is going on.

I'm so sorry I dragged you into this.

Don't bother.

He's on the verge of opening up. He just got spooked.

I can feel it.

Yeah, for good reason.

It's not about toys in a garage.

It's about murder.

My team just searched your pal's apartment.

Found a body. Killed with Sergeant Harper's own blade.

Let me call him back. I can get him out of that warehouse.

Do you see what he's doing?

Those aren't the actions of a guy

who's planning on coming out.

He is spiraling, and you know it.

Command, this is Alpha.

Got visual on the suspect.

Transmit feed.

Suspect picked up a device.

Could be a detonator.

It could be a stress ball. You don't know.

Alpha, do you have a shot?

Hold on.

Target acquired. Standing by.

Let me get him back on the phone.

And let him move out of sight?

No, this could be our only shot.

Suspect is assembling an explosive device.

Please, just give me a chance.

I can't leave this to chance.

- Alpha, this is Command. - Major Malone, don't.

No.

- Send it. - Major Malo...

Sent.

- Target down. - Target down.

Any word on Knight?

She's on her way back from Fort Belvoir,

and she's pissed.

Of course she is. Her friend just

took a bullet to the chest from a CID sniper.

Yeah, miracle he survived.

He's not out of the woods.

He's still on life support.

Did Knight ever get him to explain

why he barricaded himself?

Nope. CID is telling the story now.

Public statement suggests that Harper murdered a soldier

and then tried suicide by cop.

CID also thought that Harper had a detonator in his hand.

Turns out it was a training fuse from a practice session.

So, yeah, not exactly buying CID's version.

How you doing, Jess?

I'm fine. Harper's not.

CID got this wrong.

I don't know. I mean, if

somebody found a dead guy in my apartment with my sword

in his chest, and I barricaded myself

- in a room full of explosives... - Yeah.

It looks bad.

But Harper called me.

Told me he was being used, and I believe him.

Except that's all he said.

And now it's CID's case.

It's up to them to find the truth.

I'm not sure Malone's interested in the truth.

He had Harper pegged as a lost cause from the beginning.

And with CID facing shutdown rumors,

they need a clean win, not a messy headline.

Point is, Harper isn't getting a fair shake.

We are missing a piece of this puzzle.

And you want to find it.

Harper's not just an old informant.

When I met him, I thought being a cop was kicking in doors

and putting bad guys away.

But Harper showed me that you could actually help people.

He changed his life because of me.

I didn't give up on him back then,

and I'm not gonna give up on him now.

Well, hypothetically,

if we were to get involved here, how would we do it?

Yeah, we have no body,

- no evidence. - And no jurisdiction.

It's CID's case. We'd be

stepping on a lot of toes.

Yeah, starting with Vance's.

If he finds out we're double-dipping on CID...

All valid points.

So...

let's go step on some toes.

This isn't good, Parker.

I'm getting a ton of calls from CID.

How? Our investigation barely started.

Oh, no, not calls about that.

About the rumors of the CID shutdown.

Folks are freaking out they're gonna lose their jobs.

And I'm telling you now, I will not share a lab with Spike.

Do I want to know who that is?

Spike is the CID's version of me,

except he keeps his lab at a crisp 58 degrees

and plays jazz music all day long.

What do you have against jazz?

Oh, no, I'm not talking Miles Davis jazz

or Coltrane jazz.

I'm talking elevator music jazz.

Hold music jazz.

That's not jazz. That's a... that's a crime.

And not the one I'm interested in.

Right. Well, I may not have access

to CID's evidence against Ryan Harper,

but I do have access to his social media,

and that tells a story all on its own.

Specifically, about a dead guy in his living room.

His name is Sergeant Joseph Yates,

and he's all over Harper's socials.

What's Valor House?

Oh, Valor House is the charity that Yates and Harper

started to help wounded veterans when they hit hard times.

These guys put every minute of their lives into Valor House.

Yeah, until Yates ended up with

Harper's samurai sword in him.

Technically, that evidence is still circumstantial, but again,

my ability to dig is limited.

There must be somebody that we can talk to.

Thankfully, there is. Harper has a girlfriend.

Amanda Adams.

They've been dating for about three months,

and she spent as much time with Harper as Yates did.

In fact, the three of them all seemed pretty close.

Amanda might be able to tell us more

about what happened between these two.

All right, send her info to Knight,

and keep looking into this charity.

As long as I can do it from my warm

and jazz-free lab.

Amanda?

How's Ryan doing?

Stable, they say, but the chaplain's still on standby.

They have a lot of great doctors here.

If you're with CID, I'm not answering any more questions.

No, I'm not. I'm Jessica Knight,

with NCIS.

Jessica Knight, um...

Ryan talked about you.

Said you used to have Sunday dinners at his mom's.

Yeah. We did.

Also said that you were the reason he joined the Army.

Said you inspired him to serve.

Yeah.

I should have kept in better touch with him.

Amanda, I'm trying to figure out what led Ryan to that warehouse.

Because the Ryan that I knew was thoughtful

and level-headed.

Everything was fine,

until a few weeks ago.

He noticed something weird with the charity's bank account.

Weird how?

Money was missing.

From Valor House. Ryan couldn't figure out

how it disappeared. He started obsessing.

Well, it makes sense that he'd be concerned.

It was more than concern. He got paranoid.

First, about the money, then other things.

Look...

Ryan wasn't crazy.

Yes, he was agitated, on edge, but

that doesn't make him a killer.

Of course not.

Can I ask you about Sergeant Yates?

Did he have access to the bank account?

I don't know. They ran the charity together.

Is it possible that Ryan confronted him about this?

Things got heated?

I told you, Ryan's not a murderer.

If you knew him, you'd know that.

Amanda...

I promise you

that I will do everything that I can to find out the truth.

So, girlfriend was right.

Lot of money disappeared from the charity.

Transferred to Bitcoin accounts? Good luck tracking that.

Mm-hmm.

I guess, if your best buddy was stealing from your charity,

it might make you "stab with a sword" mad.

Well, Harper's girlfriend said he was paranoid.

- Confirms CID's theory. - Well, we have no idea

what Harper and Yates were really up to,

let alone a motive for murder.

Think I found a video online here that might help.

I crowdsourced social platforms

looking for recent images of Harper or Yates.

Came across this.

Trail mix with pretzels.

Um, are we watching the right video?

Yup. From the user "TheCalmCamouflage."

The guy posts Army-themed ASMR content.

MSM, uh, what?

Autonomous sensory meridian response.

Audio stimuli that, uh, results

in a tingling sensation in the back of the head. Whispering,

- tapping. - All right.

Ignore the guy on the microphone.

Look who is behind him.

Harper and Yates.

Except all I hear is the wrapper.

Yeah, we might not be able to hear them,

but a couple years ago, I created

a lip-reading program as a birthday present for Abby.

That is an oddly specific present.

Anyway, I ran this video through my program.

Look what it came up with.

Hey, I'm freaking out. I don't know what to do.

It's okay, man. Hey, I got you.

But this-this could blow back on me.

I'm gonna talk to Matt.

He'll handle everything.

Unfortunately, that is where the wrapper-wrinkling ends.

"Handle everything"? As in the missing money?

Yeah, that's what it sounds like.

Which means Harper wasn't

accusing Yates of stealing the money.

He was asking for help to find it.

Help from Matt. Do we have any idea who that is?

I do. I have Yates' cell records.

How were you able to pull phone records?

Courtesy of my contact at the phone company.

The last call Yates made

before he died was to a cell phone

belonging to Matthew Malone.

As in Army Major Malone from CID?

Major Malone, who ordered his sniper to shoot Harper?

- Yes and yes. - All right, let me get this straight,

these two friends discover this

stolen money and then they

went to report it to CID?

And the next day, one of them

turns up dead, and the other one?

- Shot by CID. - Well, makes you wonder

if, uh, they discovered a crime

that Malone didn't want anyone to look into.

Harper didn't trust CID. He made that very clear.

And before you could find out why, Malone shut him up.

I think it's time we have a talk with Major Malone.

I think someone's gonna have to

break the news to Vance.

He may already know.

Vance wants me and Knight in his office, now.

I just got off the phone with the director of CID.

Apparently, there's a secondary investigation underway.

Something they thought I should be made aware of.

And it involves your team.

Well, we were coming here to loop you in.

We've been following a lead.

One that may involve a CID agent

tied to a financial coverup.

Specifically, Major Malone.

Good to know.

But that's not the investigation that I'm talking about.

Does the name Roland Massi mean anything to you?

He's the drug dealer that Harper helped take down, but

Massi's serving 50 to life, so what's there to investigate?

The investigation's not about him.

It's about you, Agent Knight.

I'm sorry, what?

CID is placing you under review.

Your security clearance has been suspended.

Effective immediately.

Roland Massi owned a series of bars and clubs

across Virginia catering to service members.

Served drinks in the front, cocaine in the back.

It was one of the largest drug operations

in the commonwealth's history.

Until seven years ago,

when the NCIS REACT team and I took it all down.

Well, now Massi's serving life in prison.

It's a big win for NCIS.

None of this would have been possible without Ryan Harper.

He was just a kid. He was seduced by Massi's offer

of fast cash, realized it was plain wrong.

So, he cooperated with Knight and turned his life around.

Okay, but why would Malone be sniffing around

a successful seven-year-old bust?

Well, either he thinks Knight did something wrong...

Or it's a bluff.

To take our eyes off Malone and the missing money.

Is there anything else about Massi's operation

that we should know about?

Everything you need to know is in that file.

I stand by it.

CID comes at one of ours,

we don't wait around playing defense.

We show them that this investigation

isn't about Knight,

it's about Malone, and we prove it

before they bury the evidence.

CID blindsided Knight the moment that we connected Malone

with our victim. That is not a coincidence.

This whole case revolves around

that dead body in Harper's living room.

All right, so we solve the murder,

we hopefully clear Harper,

and we definitely get CID off Knight's back.

And, uh, someone needs to make sure

that Vance stays off of ours.

Yes, absolutely.

Thank you.

That was my third call with

the CID director since breakfast.

I'm not looking for a fourth.

- That's the job. - Mine, yes.

Right now, I'm more worried about Agent Knight's.

Well, then we're on the same page.

Are we?

You said that you were investigating

a CID agent,

and now CID is digging into one of ours.

The last thing that we need is a turf war.

Because of the rumors they're folding.

Yes. CID won't go down without a fight.

They need a win, any way they can get it.

Even at Knight's expense.

CID is under the spotlight,

and they need to get it off them fast.

Taking down an NCIS agent... that's high-profile.

Suddenly, the spotlight is on us.

I don't care about the spotlight.

I care that Knight's being used as a scapegoat.

I wish it were that simple, Parker.

But according to the CID director,

whatever they have on Agent Knight is substantial.

Major Malone is on his way over to interview her now.

Okay, so how do we stop him?

- We don't. He's within his rights. - So, what...

we just let Knight take the hit?

I said we can't stop Major Malone from questioning Knight.

I never said that we were giving up.

I'm trying to protect my agent.

So am I.

Which is why I made sure

that Knight is being questioned here,

on our turf, not theirs.

And more importantly...

...why I had CID hand over this.

Crime scene report from Sergeant Harper's apartment?

Thank you.

Parker.

If you're gonna prove that Harper's not a murderer,

do it fast. But please be warned,

CID is a drowning man.

Drowning man doesn't care who he pulls under with him.

Kasie?

Uh, Kasie, you okay?

Kasie?

Wait, McGee, wait, watch out for the...

paint.

That's, uh, that's great.

My shoes are now the same color as the squad room.

Yeah, my forensic supplies are backordered,

so I had to raid building maintenance.

- Well, this place is a total mess. - Hey. You see a mess,

but I see geometry.

Because every slash

and stab creates a mathematical pattern that tells a story.

Yeah, a story with, uh, not a very happy ending.

Mm. Depends on how you look at it.

I am matching my demonstration to the crime scene photos from

Sergeant Harper's apartment, and I finally got it right.

What do you notice in these photos?

Well, uh...

Well, there's blood everywhere. I mean,

it's on the floor, it's on the walls,

- even the ceiling. - Ah, you almost got it right.

Most of the blood is on half of the floor,

the walls, the ceiling.

Right. Murderer swings the sword,

- blood spatters in the direction of the swing. - Exactly.

I'm right-handed, so when I swing the sword,

paint goes on the left side of the room,

just like in the crime scene photos.

Okay.

Killer is right-handed, you are right-handed.

- Mm-hmm. - As is 90% of the population.

Unless Sergeant Harper is left-handed.

Ding, ding, ding. Not only that,

but judging by the angle of the swings,

the killer was also significantly shorter

than Harper as well.

Harper didn't kill his friend.

Bingo. CID's got the wrong man.

Ooh.

It's Parker.

Major Malone just got here to interrogate Knight.

This evidence will show Malone how wrong he is about Harper.

- Ladies first. - You're the guest.

No, I insist.

Hm.

You got to be kidding me.

Well, it's my interview.

It's my interrogation room.

How about a compromise?

You got a pitch?

I might as well start us off.

Actually, you know what? I'll start.

Ladies first, right?

What the hell. I got nothing to hide.

Mm. Except that you were the last person

to speak to our murder victim.

I didn't hide that.

You didn't disclose it to me at the standoff.

I had my hands full.

And it wasn't your business.

Oh.

Sergeant Yates called about suspicious activity

with the charity's accounts.

We were gonna meet in the morning, but, uh,

well, he's dead.

So, you accused Harper of murdering him

and had your sniper take him down.

I stand by my actions.

I believe Harper was a threat to himself and others.

I made a judgment call.

The wrong judgment call.

Because Harper didn't kill that guy.

He's innocent.

Mm, you're half-right. He didn't kill the guy.

You know?

Sure. Harper's left-handed.

The killer was right-handed.

Which means you don't have a case,

so what are we doing here?

Harper didn't swing the sword but...

oh, he was far from innocent.

Now, while NCIS was playing gotcha with yesterday's clues,

CID was actively pursuing fresh ones.

Harper's tox report came back.

He was hopped up on cocaine,

which explains his erratic behavior yesterday.

Explained even more when we searched his charity office.

Found phones, drug-mixing paraphernalia,

and...

...six kilos of product.

Your pal Harper wasn't just using,

he was dealing.

That missing charity money... he was laundering it.

And when Yates found out,

Harper had him killed.

How is this even possible?

I've been asking myself the same thing.

I'd say you made it possible, Agent Knight.

Ryan Harper never intended to go straight seven years ago.

He was just biding his time.

Harper was the reason we took down Roland Massi.

Mm, sure. I mean, he was trying to survive.

Oh.

Harper helps you get rid of Massi.

Then you expunge his record,

which allowed him to join the Army.

Where he builds a brand-new drug ring, all his own.

This is ridiculous.

Or are you so busy trying to prove

how I screwed up, that...

you can't even see your own mess?

Even if you can't see it...

...everyone else will.

Now, this graduation photo is going on the cover of my report

to the inspector general.

Let's hope it doesn't make the cover of the Evening Post.

Way I see it,

you were either in on all this with Harper from the beginning

or you got played.

For me,

I'd rather be a criminal than a fool.

Knight has been there for a long time.

Nobody's called for a medic yet.

Is that good or bad?

Hey, Knight.

How'd it go in there?

Uh, still sorting that out.

You, uh, want to give us the headline?

Actually, that's what I'm trying to avoid.

Agent Knight, there something I can do for you?

I got it wrong.

If this is about the case,

I'm sure it's something we can work out.

Not this time.

I thought I was making a difference in someone's life.

But I just let myself get used.

If CID wants to make themselves look good

by taking me down, fine,

but I won't let them take NCIS down with me.

My mistake.

I own it.

Agent Parker.

Can I help you?

Called you twice, no answer.

I'm aware.

Convenient.

Knight's resignation took the spotlight off NCIS.

That's, uh, that's what you wanted.

You think I wanted Agent Knight to resign?

I think you let her.

She didn't exactly invite a discussion.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a call.

She's being steamrolled, Leon. We can't

just sit back and watch it happen.

My hands are tied, Parker. What would you have me do?

Well, you can start by blowing off your call

and showing me you give a damn!

Not every part of my job is up for public consumption.

I'm the public now?

Excuse me, Agent Parker.

Parker, you're good?

Any word from Knight since she left?

Radio silence.

Yeah.

Major Malone is a major pain in the ass.

- No argument here. - She made a call

that any one of us would have made.

Helping an informant expunge their record?

Restorative justice 101.

I wouldn't be standing here if someone

didn't give me a second chance when I was 18.

Right, but you became a cop.

CID says that Harper became a drug lord.

CID's evidence was enough

to make Knight believe that she got played.

And if it's true,

that's not just a black mark, that's a career-ender.

All right, but we all know Jessica Knight.

Do we really think she got played?

All right, if we're gonna save Knight, we need

to tear down CID's case, find the holes,

prove that Harper was no drug lord.

Before CID goes public.

Well, I've got something that may help.

I've been reviewing the interview footage

from Knight's interview with Malone.

He may not have as much evidence as he claims. Take a look.

Why is the table turned sideways?

Neither of them would agree on who was interviewing who.

Compromise?

Or Knight knew we might want

a view of Malone's files,

including the drug analysis on the cocaine

CID seized.

- Bad analysis? - No, bad drugs.

Compound contains

less than 15% cocaine hydrochloride.

Whereas street cocaine comes in about 60%.

And about 90% for the pure stuff.

Yeah, this was just enough to pop positive

on a forensics analysis. The rest is baby laxatives.

So Harper was trying to move faulty product?

Or maybe he's not trying to move any product at all.

It's an old cartel trick. They grab

a small amount of the pure stuff,

and you mix it with the junk

to make it look like a large amount,

and then they plant it.

All right, who do we think

Harper's being set up by?

Bad cops plant drugs, too.

You really think Malone would go that far?

More than I believe, uh, Knight helped create a drug lord.

All right, how do we prove it?

Now, I'm not one to comment on

interpersonal dynamics at work.

- You're not? - Fine, I do it all the time,

but some people need to be reminded

that we're all team NCIS,

and when friends argue, they need to hug.

I'm not hugging Director Vance.

Tell me you got something.

Like holes in CID's case?

Then you're in luck, because this major drug operation

looks like Swiss cheese.

For starters, the high-ticket items

seized from the garage cost about $250,000,

which is almost the exact amount

- missing from Harper's charity. - Right, suggesting

that the stolen charity money

paid for the stuff, not drug money.

Correct. Now, CID claims that

the charity was being used to launder money,

but that's impossible because there were no illicit funds

being run through the charity.

There are no drug sales at all.

I ran the numbers from the burner phones that CID seized.

They're full of coded messages

that look like drug deals from The Wire.

- Fake messages? - Uh, real messages.

Fake deals. Someone used a bot program

to make these phones call each other.

So, no buyers, no profits, no operation.

Just an elaborate frame job

designed to fool CID and get Harper put away.

Yeah, unless CID was in on it.

Malone takes drugs from the evidence locker, plants them.

There's no way that these drugs came from CID evidence locker.

I ran the drug analysis

through the DEA's database. They keep

a index of all narcotics seized from all agencies.

CID never seized

this specific blend of cocaine,

but NCIS did, seven years ago.

When Knight took down Massi's organization.

This compound was dealt exclusively by Massi's crew,

until the entire operation

was dismantled and the drugs were destroyed.

Are you saying that somebody from Massi's organization

are using seven-year-old drugs to frame Harper?

Kinda, except Massi's already in jail,

and everyone from his organization

is either with him or dead.

- So who'd want revenge? - Well, we need to

figure that out, and fast.

Because if this is about payback,

Knight could be next on the list.

I didn't want to wake you.

How long have you been here?

Just a few hours. I wanted to...

be here when Ryan woke up.

That's sweet.

It's not, actually.

Turns out he's been playing both of us.

And I want answers.

Played us? How?

Ryan's charity is a front

for a major drug ring.

That's why he killed his friend.

No.

Can't be.

I'm afraid so.

The man that we thought we knew...

...he's a lie.

Special Agent Knight.

Malone. You here to gloat?

Actually, I'm here for your bag.

You come for my job and my agency.

Now you want my bag?

I'm not giving you anything without a search warrant.

Wow. That is a lot of trouble

for a sweatpants and a bottle of water.

The bag.

Agent Knight.

I can't believe it.

Me either.

This actually worked.

I told you. She wouldn't be able to stop herself.

What the hell are you talking about?

This is a sting, Amanda.

We played you,

just like you played Ryan.

There's cameras all down this hallway.

You slipped the drugs into Knight's bag

when she was, uh, sleeping.

The final piece of your revenge,

and this piece just fell right into your lap.

Revenge? For what?

You're Roland Massi's daughter.

So what?

He's rotting away in prison.

I'm trying to move on.

That must have been hard.

Doors slamming in your face because of the Massi name.

So, you changed your name,

your look,

tried to start a new life.

But that wasn't enough, because the man

who destroyed your family was still alive.

And that's when you went looking for Harper.

Got him to fall for you, to trust you,

then you set him up.

Drugs, murder. It almost worked.

Until he barricaded himself in a warehouse

and made one request.

He called me.

And now you'll serve 50 to life.

Just like dad.

Jess?

I'm here.

Well, welcome back. We've missed you.

I've only been gone for a day.

Well, it felt like a day and a half.

Security clearance been reinstated.

We got Amanda on everything.

Murder, spiking Harper's protein shake with cocaine, all of it.

I'm surprised you got Malone on our side.

He was ready to hang me out to dry.

Well, you should have seen his face

when we told him that Amanda was Massi's daughter.

Well, I guess the important part is that Harper's cleared,

- recovering. - And hey,

he turned his life around because of you.

I guess I shouldn't have doubted myself.

That's okay. We never did.

Oh.

Speaking of, uh, second chances...

Agent Knight. Quick word?

They're not thrilled to see me.

They know we're friends now, right?

Is that what we are?

I'm here to clear the deck.

I got a reputation as a hard-charger,

but I own my mistakes.

I misread some things. That's on me.

You're forgiven.

I wasn't asking for forgiveness.

But I guess sometimes we forget.

This job's not just about kicking down doors.

It's about lifting people up.

Yeah, it is.

Oh, we don't validate parking, so...

I couldn't resist.

It's got my personal cell on the back.

Are you hoping for a date?

Uh, no, ma'am.

I'm hoping for a job.

I'm sure you've heard the rumors.

I'll put in a good word for you.

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