- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Wood shifts. Hard to keep an even surface.
- Judge Miles Deakin: Preaching to the choir. Anything beats synthetic lanes. Even if it means maintaining the wood's original shape.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Original shape's a tree.
- Ellie Bishop: [at a bowling alley] Whoa. Well, I know where I'm having my next birthday party.
- Nick Torres: Where was the last one?
- Ellie Bishop: ShowBiz Pizza. I was seven.
- Kasie Hines: So, Stuart Crum, AKA...
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Ice Cream Killer.
- Kasie Hines: Guilty, but he got off on a technicality.
- Timothy McGee: The next day, Crum is found dead, and we know that the hitman who killed him was paid out of SECDEF's account.
- Kasie Hines: But check this out. We found six other withdrawals from that same account over the past three years.
- Timothy McGee: Each one was sent to city that, just the week before, had a high-profile murder case get dismissed by a technicality.
- Kasie Hines: In each case, the suspected killer ends up dead. I mean, holy vigilante justice, Batman, but in this case, it's like a nationwide network of vigilante justice.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Someone is having killers killed. Who?
- Kasie Hines: Don't know. The money's a dead end. Assuming SECDEF is telling the truth, there's no way to track exactly who's controlling his account.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Find a way, Kase.
- Timothy McGee: Boss, you really buying this?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Got anything else, McGee?
- [leaving]
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah, I'm buying it.
- Timothy McGee: He must be tired.
- Kasie Hines: So, I dusted the image for fingerprints, and other than yours, I found none. Totally clean.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: The bullets?
- Kasie Hines: You did a great job of digging them out of your truck. They were all totally intact. Also totally clean.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Gotta have something here, Kase.
- Kasie Hines: Oh. Well, that brings me back to the photo.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You said it was clean.
- Kasie Hines: There's normal forensic scienctist clean, and then there's Kasie Hines clean.
- Timothy McGee: Whatever's going on, we need to know, no matter what it is.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: It's personal.
- Ellie Bishop: Shooting at the diner, maybe?
- Timothy McGee: Yeah, we know about that. We're detectives. But once you talked to the judge, you made it about the case. The two have to be connected. Now, I get it if you don't want to tell us why, boss, but after all we've been through with you, you think there's anything you could say that would surprise us?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I killed the man who killed my family. Deakin knows. He's using it against me to get me off this case.
- [stunned, McGee starts the elevator again, and Gibbs gets off outside Kasie's lab]
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: And don't ever follow me again!
- Timothy McGee: Nick, you didn't say anything in your text about a dead body.
- Nick Torres: Tim, why else would I text you to come to Gibbs' house as soon as you landed?
- Timothy McGee: Well, I can think of a few reasons.
- Timothy McGee: We don't have all the records on SECDEF's account.
- Ellie Bishop: And our bailiff hitman's not talking. No wife, no friends, no social media. He's a breathing dead end.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: He has a boss, Bishop. Start with him.
- Ellie Bishop: Judge Deakin. On it.
- Timothy McGee: I think the best way to find proof on SECDEF is to just confront him.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Easier said than done, Tim.
- Timothy McGee: [behind him, Crawford gets off the elevator] Well, I know Vance isn't ready to go all in on this one, but you don't want to lose the element of surprise.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Too late.
- Wynn Crawford: I was an Undersecretary back in 2002. Office of Finance. I opened that account in connection with several national security operations.
- Leon Vance: Off the books?
- Wynn Crawford: Post-9/11, things moved fast. Bookkeeping was not at the top of our list of priorities. That account got lost in the shuffle.
- Leon Vance: Hundreds of millions?
- Wynn Crawford: It's D.C., Leon.
- Leon Vance: Sir, you have DOD, FBI, and a whole host of federal acronyms at your disposal. Why come to us?
- Wynn Crawford: Well... last time our paths crossed, I didn't like you peeking under my hood. So I decided to take a peek under yours.
- Leon Vance: Did you find what you were looking for?
- Wynn Crawford: What I found was even worse than dirt. You really are a good man who runs a tight ship. You both.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Last man who said that is dead.
- Wynn Crawford: Yeah, well, I don't know anything about Clark's death. But I'm offering you everything I have.
- [opening a folder]
- Wynn Crawford: The offshore account records you've been looking for. All of 'em. Now it's your turn.
- Wynn Crawford: Can you tell me who's been using this account?
- Leon Vance: Not yet.
- Wynn Crawford: But you do know what they've been using it for.
- [noticing their reluctance to elaborate]
- Wynn Crawford: Gentlemen, trust is a two-way street.
- Leon Vance: Yes, sir. And we'll let you know as soon as we have more.
- Timothy McGee: This can't be right. Check it again.
- Kasie Hines: Because the fifth time is a charm?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: [entering] What do we got?
- Kasie Hines: We've been processing the bank records from SECDEF.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Mm-hmm. And?
- Timothy McGee: Well, what we're finding is very... strange. I think there's something else we need to check.
- Kasie Hines: No, we don't. Just tell him.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: [waiting impatiently] Tell him what?
- Kasie Hines: Well, since you asked, follow me.
- Leon Vance: So, what do you think?
- Jack Sloane: Well, it doesn't seem like a matter of opinion, Leon. Jimmy's autopsy reporter, Kasie's forensics report, the CIA independent investigation, they all say the same thing.
- Leon Vance: Mallory's story checks out.
- Jack Sloane: Yeah, for once. But you didn't need me to tell you that, Leon, so what do you need?
- Leon Vance: Closure.
- Jack Sloane: [understanding] Oh. Oh... you actually fell for this woman, huh? Cupid usually shoots arrows, but you're walking around with a harpoon in your chest, huh?
- Leon Vance: It's over. I know that, Jack.
- Jack Sloane: Do you? The heart wants what the heart wants.
- Leon Vance: Could I have done something a little different?
- Jack Sloane: [sympathetic] Oh... Leon, honey... this is not your fault.
- Leon Vance: When I first put together that she was CIA, I could've called her out.
- Jack Sloane: You put the security of this agency above your personal feelings.
- Leon Vance: But I don't think that's a good foundation for happily ever after.
- Jack Sloane: Maybe you need to lower the bar a bit. If your goal is happily ever after, I think you got into the wrong business. Or maybe you should just date a librarian, so you won't have this problem again.
- Leon Vance: Stay away from undercover CIA agents, that's your advice?
- Jack Sloane: I mean, it's practical.
- [he laughs]
- Jack Sloane: But this isn't about finding someone new, is it?
- Ellie Bishop: What happened here?
- Elaine: Gibbs happened. He didn't tell you?
- Ellie Bishop: Tell me what?
- Elaine: Late last night, Gibbs was heading home. Next thing I know, we heard shots outside.
- Ellie Bishop: Gunshots?
- Elaine: Gibbs is okay; didn't even spill his coffees.
- Ellie Bishop: So, w-who did the shooting? What did the police find?
- Elaine: Not Gibbs. He took off before the cops got here. And after fielding questions with these yahoos all night, I understand why. I told them I didn't see who was shooting. Matter of fact, I didn't tell them who was shot at. I assumed Gibbs left for a reason.
- Timothy McGee: You're sure that it was Gibbs' truck that was hit?
- Nick Torres: Where did he go?
- Ellie Bishop: I-I told you everything I know.
- Jimmy Palmer: I just want to say, any time you guys need a safe, secluded space for gossip, Autopsy's all yours. Gets really lonely down here.
- Donald Mallard: I pulled the records of your six vigilante murder cases, and I discovered an intriguing connection.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What kind of connection, Duck?
- Donald Mallard: These six murders span four states, each in a different city, each in a different jurisdiction with different judges. However, on closer inspection, each of these four judges have something in common. They all clerked for one man.
- Timothy McGee: [Ducky shows them a photo] Judge Deakin.
- Ellie Bishop: A federal judge running a vigilante network?
- Nick Torres: We can't prove anything.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: No, not yet. Keep digging.
- Ellie Bishop: [watching him leave] Okay, where is he going now?
- Nick Torres: Damn good question.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I thought I locked that door.
- Judge Miles Deakin: You did.
- [setting down the picture of Pedro Hernandez]
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I think you dropped this.
- Judge Miles Deakin: Looks like a charming fellow. You know him?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I did. He killed my family. Now he's dead.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You want me dead? Here I am.
- Judge Miles Deakin: Want you dead? This have something to do with this photo? He doesn't look like he died of old age.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You want to judge me, Judge? Man up. Do your own dirty work.
- Judge Miles Deakin: Man up? Like you did? You put your thumb on the scale and created justice where there was none, and made the world right.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: No, not even close.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You condemn me for something I did years ago, while you're still doing it.
- Judge Miles Deakin: That's an interesting theory, but you can't prove a word of it. Maybe that's why you came alone? Or maybe, deep down, you really believe in justice at all costs.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Not about justice. Justice is your excuse. Because I'm coming for you... and you're scared.
- Judge Miles Deakin: And you're alone. Because they don't know what you did, do they? Your team. And you're too ashamed to tell 'em the truth. Agent Gibbs, I think we're accusing each other of the same thing. Maybe we're on the same team.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: [leaving] No, we're not.
- Timothy McGee: Hey, what's up?
- Nick Torres: We have a problem. I followed Gibbs last night.
- Timothy McGee: Uh, that's a "you" problem. He's not gonna be happy about that.
- Ellie Bishop: He went to the judge without telling us.
- Nick Torres: Why is he cutting us out?
- Ellie Bishop: I don't know, but it has to do with the shooting at the diner.
- Wynn Crawford: Mallory came to me and told me that Clark had been nosing around my old account.
- Leon Vance: Out of the goodness of her heart, I'm sure.
- Wynn Crawford: She'd been demoted and needed some new friends in high places, and I wanted to know what Clark was up to. So I asked her to find out.
- Leon Vance: At all costs?
- Wynn Crawford: No. I never asked her to kill Clark. And when I found out she had, I came to you.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah, and you lied.
- Wynn Crawford: I withheld, because it looked bad.
- Leon Vance: Still does.
- Leon Vance: Where's Mallory now?
- Wynn Crawford: I have no idea. I gave her the account records, told her to keep digging, and then nothing. She must have found something more valuable than friends in high places.
- Leon Vance: Such as?
- Wynn Crawford: You tell me. I was hoping NCIS had something in the works.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: [his phone rings] Yeah, Kase. I'm on my way down.
- Wynn Crawford: What's that?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: [leaving] Something in the works.
- Kasie Hines: So, this is the computer program I ran after making a super hi-res scan. If there is anything unusual, this thing will find it. It could find a flaw in Beyoncé.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Did it?
- Kasie Hines: Beyoncé? No. Photo, yes. While there are no latent prints on the image, I found a partial print in the image itself. In the ink.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Somebody touched it.
- Kasie Hines: Right after it was printed, just before the ink dried.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Well, run it.
- Kasie Hines: I have been.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah, and?
- Kasie Hines: Still running.
- Kasie Hines: So, uh, this photo was on your dashboard while you were being shot at. You wanna tell me who this man is?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: The print, Kase.
- Kasie Hines: Well, it's a partial print, which greatly increases the number of potential matches. But the odds of getting an immediate hit on any print are...
- [her computer chirps]
- Kasie Hines: Huh. I got a hit.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You got a name?
- Kasie Hines: [displaying the result] It belongs to CIA officer Mallory Madden. Isn't that...
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Director's ex-girlfriend.
- Kasie Hines: Well, the director's ex-girlfriend tried to kill you.
- Leon Vance: Mallory doesn't usually miss her target.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah, I've seen.
- Leon Vance: Then why are you still breathing?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I got a lot of questions.
- Leon Vance: Like why is my ex trying to kill you?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I'm not the one who broke her heart. I'm guessing it was about money.
- Leon Vance: She's working for Judge Deakin, but how did she find him?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Same way we did.
- Leon Vance: SECDEF gave her the account records.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Same ones he gave us.
- Leon Vance: And she followed those same breadcrumbs all the way to Deakin? When?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: It doesn't matter.
- Leon Vance: Yeah, it does. It does to me.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: We only need her to get to Deakin.
- Leon Vance: Down in the basement, Gibbs, was she telling the truth? Did she know what was going on the entire time?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Leon, you're asking the wrong person.
- Leon Vance: Let's find her.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Where are we?
- Timothy McGee: Mallory's cell hasn't been used in days.
- Nick Torres: The Agency hasn't heard from her since she was cleared in Clark's death.
- Ellie Bishop: Yeah, no hits on the BOLO, either.
- Timothy McGee: Mallory is a trained CIA operative. She knows how to disappear.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Well, she's not going anywhere until she finishes her job.
- Timothy McGee: By "job", you mean...
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Putting a bullet in my head.
- Timothy McGee: Mallory just turned on her cell phone and her GPS tracker.
- Ellie Bishop: So either our CIA operative is sloppy, or it's a trap.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: She's not sloppy. Where is she?
- Timothy McGee: She's at your diner.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: [leaving, he notices no one is on his six] Hey, come on. All of you. Let's go.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Good coffee here. Keep both hands on the table.
- Mallory: I'm not here to fight. I'm here to turn myself in. Figured this was as good a place as any.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Get up.
- Mallory: [he handcuffs her] I screwed up. Tell Leon this was just business.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: [leading her out] Tell him yourself.
- Leon Vance: Your challenge coin.
- Wynn Crawford: I had new ones made up when I was appointed for the job five years ago.
- Leon Vance: Highest rank gets free drinks at the bar. There's only one coin higher than this.
- Wynn Crawford: Supposed to give 'em out as a sign of respect and admiration. This is my first.
- Leon Vance: I don't know what to say.
- Wynn Crawford: You tracked the missing funds to Judge Deakin. Meaning NCIS has officially saved my ass, again.
- Leon Vance: We just did our job, sir.
- Wynn Crawford: Anything you need, Leon, you call me.
- Leon Vance: Sir, I...
- Wynn Crawford: Leon. Anything.
- Nick Torres: [turning on Gibbs' TV after a shoot-out] You got to be kidding me. It still works.
- Ellie Bishop: Mm, didn't it used to be in color?
- Timothy McGee: So what happened here?
- Ellie Bishop: Clark was meeting Gibbs. Mallory got here first. She said Clark tried to kill her.
- Timothy McGee: What? Why?
- Nick Torres: Mallory shot back. Put one in the TV and one in Clark's heart.
- Timothy McGee: Self-defense?
- Ellie Bishop: According to Mallory.
- Timothy McGee: Okay. Do we believe her?
- Mallory: I acted in self-defense. I'm telling you the truth, Leon.
- Leon Vance: Well, that's a first. Why were you following Clark? And don't say it's your job.
- Timothy McGee: The Ice Cream Killer, Stuart Crum, got off on a legal technicality, and then was murdered.
- Ellie Bishop: The man who killed Crum was an assassin paid from a secret account belonging to Secretary of Defense. We don't actually think SECDEF paid for the hit, do we?
- Nick Torres: I mean, it was his account.
- Timothy McGee: We still don't have proof that he was controlling it.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: [entering] So find some. Follow the money.
- Wynn Crawford: Somebody has been accessing an old offshore account in my name. I have no idea who, or why. Which is why I'm here. Sunlight in the best disinfectant, boys. So, you got questions, ask away.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: The account. What is it?
- Wynn Crawford: Take a look.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Asked you, Mr. Secretary.
- Elaine: Anything else, Gibbs?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Nah, just the usual would be great. Thanks.
- Elaine: Working on that boat again, huh? Four coffees coming up.
- Ellie Bishop: A network of vigilante justice?
- Timothy McGee: No matter how many times you say it out loud, it still sounds like every comic book ever.
- Nick Torres: Everybody likes superheroes.
- Ellie Bishop: Superman doesn't hire hitmen, Nick.
- Nick Torres: Yeah, but he takes down criminals that the system can't catch.
- Timothy McGee: Yeah, but he also leaps tall buildings in a single bound, so let's stick to reality here.
- Timothy McGee: Murder is murder.
- Nick Torres: I agree.
- Timothy McGee: And we need to find out who is controlling this network.
- Ellie Bishop: I agree.
- Timothy McGee: So we all agree. So what's the problem?
- Ellie Bishop: The problem is... where is Gibbs? I mean, there should be three cups of coffee in the trash by now.
- [holding up the empty trash can]
- Ellie Bishop: Zero cups.
- Timothy McGee: Yeah, and how often do we get this far into a discussion before he appears behind...
- Nick Torres: [McGee looks around suspiciously] See, that's why I didn't say anything, 'cause as soon as I did... okay.
- Timothy McGee: Yeah, this is weird.
- Ellie Bishop: It's not like Gibbs to not show up for work. We should check on him.
- Timothy McGee: Good luck with that.
- Nick Torres: Yeah, that's all you.
- Timothy McGee: [seeing her look] No, I'm-I'm gonna go help, uh, Kasie find a connection.
- Nick Torres: Yeah, and I'm gonna pull case files on our six murder dots.
- Ellie Bishop: Oh, my god. What are you two scared of? Gibbs will appreciate the fact that we are concerned about him.
- Nick Torres: [sarcastic] Yeah, he appreciates when people are up in his business.
- Ellie Bishop: So, what are we supposed to say to Gibbs?
- Timothy McGee: Um, nothing.
- Ellie Bishop: We're just gonna ignore this?
- Timothy McGee: As opposed to?
- Ellie Bishop: I don't know, talk to him? I mean, you had the guts to fire him.
- Timothy McGee: And I lived to talk about it. You think I'm gonna push my luck?
- Ellie Bishop: So no one is gonna confront Gibbs?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: [entering] About what?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Update.
- Ellie Bishop: I left you a couple of messages this morning. Is everything okay?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Car trouble. Update.
- Donald Mallard: As NCIS historian, I have become somewhat isolated down in my new office, but since when has Gibbs' whereabouts been so hotly contested?
- Timothy McGee: Don't ask, Duck.
- Timothy McGee: Morning, Nick.
- Nick Torres: Hey, yo.
- [he blows air and rubs his fingers together like starting a fire in the wild]
- Timothy McGee: Was that meant for us?
- Ellie Bishop: Or did he have a stroke?
- Nick Torres: Excuse me.
- Ellie Bishop: [he does the gesture again] The last man who made that hand gesture at me is now missing a hand.
- Nick Torres: What? It means "campfire".
- Ellie Bishop: Then just say "campfire".
- Nick Torres: Campfire. Now.
- Timothy McGee: I see how this looks.
- Ellie Bishop: Bad.
- Timothy McGee: Well, what are supposed to do? We supposed to step in every time boss makes a move without telling us?
- Ellie Bishop: This is different. I mean, the guy's car just got sprayed with bullets, and we have no idea why.
- Nick Torres: We can't do our jobs if we're always in the dark.
- Timothy McGee: Maybe he's trying to protect us.
- Nick Torres: From what? If we're in danger, wouldn't... wouldn't you want to know?
- Ellie Bishop: McGee, you have to handle this.
- Timothy McGee: Yeah, I can't keep firing Gibbs.
- Ellie Bishop: Just talk to him.
- Timothy McGee: All right, fine. But if I crash and burn, you two are coming with.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Update. Go.
- Timothy McGee: Actually, boss, before that...
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: [seeing them crowded around his desk, he stands to leave] Nope.
- Ellie Bishop: What does he mean "nope"? Wh... we didn't say anything.
- Kasie Hines: I was just on my way up. Unless this is a bad time.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What do you got?
- Kasie Hines: [handing over a folder] I got a whole heap of lies.
- Wynn Crawford: What's this?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Phone records.
- Leon Vance: Do you recognize your number? It seems that you and CIA officer Mallory Madden have been awfully chatty. A fact that you both have failed to mention.
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: About that two-way street...
- Ellie Bishop: Okay FAA and TSA have Mallory on a watchlist. Border checkpoints are on high alert. Still waiting on a list of her known aliases.
- Nick Torres: CIA has me on hold. Again.
- Timothy McGee: And no activity on her Internet accounts, and her cell phone is still turned off.
- Nick Torres: Yeah. Great. Can you send me those?
- [hanging up]
- Nick Torres: The aliases are on their way.
- Jack Sloane: After everything that's happened with Leon, Clark, you, this woman turns herself in? Why?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Hoping to find out.
- Jack Sloane: You think it's wise to send a jilted lover into that room?
- Leroy Jethro Gibbs: It's not my call.