♪ ♪
One more lap, and I am off the clock.
MAN: And onto Gina. (laughs)
Isabelle.
A yoga teacher from Austin.
Oh.
Man, that chick is so flexible.
Mm.
She can touch her nose to her...
To her what?
I got to go.
(man and woman giggling quietly)
WOMAN: (gasps) Someone's coming.
What?
What are the two of you doing in here?
WOMAN: We... we were just...
Making history. (laughs)
Uh, s-step out of the exhibit.
Huh? Now!
We got a problem.
♪ Boom, boom, boom, boom ♪
♪ Bang, bang, bang, bang ♪
♪ Boom, boom, boom, boom ♪
♪ How, how, how, how ♪
♪ Hey, hey ♪
♪ You gotta come on. ♪
And you know I been at this a month.
Tried everything-- our database, FBI's.
Nothing more I can do.
I know, it's tough on all of us.
You try to get some sleep, okay?
Yeah, I got to let you go.
Talk to you tomorrow.
Love you, Mom.
Bye.
Checking in with mom? Yep.
Bet you guys have big plans for the holiday.
Eh, not so much.
It's Christmas.
I'm well aware.
Got a nifty little calendar app on my phone.
Christmas is a holiday.
You're firing on all cylinders today, ain't you, Brody?
Lasalle, you live for holidays.
You celebrate Halloween for an entire week.
I mean, Thanksgiving is like an episode of Top Chef.
And don't even get me started about Fourth of July.
What, you didn't like the, uh, Uncle Sam costume?
You're a holiday junkie.
And-and Christmas is the mother of them all.
Sorry to disappoint you, Brody.
Christmas just ain't my thing.
Christopher, Brody. What do we got?
Annual holiday mixer for military personnel.
According to his statement, the security guard
was making his rounds when he came across the victim
in this closed-off section.
PRIDE: Good tidings, Loretta.
Not for this particular fella.
The victim is retired SEAL William Samuels, age 54.
(camera clicking)
Broken guard rail.
Knocked over replicas.
Based on the diameter of the wound...
gonna venture to say
he was stabbed in the abdomen with that knife.
Looks like a...
bayonet, actually.
Approximate time of death: two hours ago.
8:30.
Right in the middle of the event.
That's a serious party foul.
Tread mark in the fake snow.
Make a cast and send it over to Sebastian to analyze.
Seal of honor?
I know that pin.
That's Bud the Imposter Hunter.
Who's Bud the Imposter Hunter?
Good men and women risk their lives
each and every day for this country,
and these lowlife imposters
come in and hijack their heroism.
Got a call from a lady in Shreveport.
Neighbor was a so-called decorated Marine who incurred
a nasty spinal injury-- collected
close to 80 grand in veterans disability
benefits to cover medical costs.
So imagine the gal's surprise when she stumbles upon him
teaching a martial arts class.
This jerk was discharged before he ever got deployed.
I called a contact at the Veterans Admin
and shut his imposter ass down.
So, all you phonies out there,
the next time you think about calling yourself a hero,
think again, 'cause Bud the Imposter Hunter
is out there looking for you.
Question is: how did Bud the hunter
become Bud the hunted?
Here you go, Addie.
Thank you. Appreciate you helping us out.
My pleasure.
As the Navy liaison for stolen valor crimes,
I had the honor of working with Bud on a handful of cases.
So military fraud is common for the Navy?
It's become a widespread issue among all the Armed Forces.
So much so that, in 2013, Congress passed
the Stolen Valor Act to clamp down on it.
So these guys pretend to be in the service for what?
Glory, respect?
Not to mention some significant financial perks--
higher job salaries, free goods and services
and thousands in pensions and benefits.
Wouldn't be surprised if some of these fakes held a grudge
against Bud for exposing their scams.
The first thing we need to do is separate
the G.I. Joes from the G.I. Fauxs.
I can put a list together of all the cases Bud and I worked on,
see if there's anyone who raises a red flag.
Good. Uh, we'll cross-reference potential suspects with
the security footage from the party, see if we get a hit.
You know that's my desk, don't you, Watkins?
Relax, Lasalle. I don't take up that much room.
Brody, help these two work it out.
I got a date with the dynamic duo over at the morgue.
Someone's in the yuletide spirit.
Saturnalia, actually.
It's a pagan festival celebrated in ancient Rome.
Did you know that
during Saturnalia, Romans would go
from house to house singing in the nude?
It was a precursor to our modern-day Christmas caroling.
Can we save this for the... Office holiday party.
Yeah, the thing is I haven't gotten my invite for that yet.
I keep checking...
Sebastian. What?
You have some information you want to share?
I do. That's a great call. Yes.
I, uh, cross-referenced the boot print from the crime scene
with all military-issue boots in the last ten years.
No match. But...
when I ran the tread through the commercial database,
I found these.
They're cheap knockoffs.
Kind of like the sneakers
my mom bought for me for my 12th birthday.
See, I had asked for Adidas, right?
But instead, Mom takes a Sharpie to a pair of her nursing shoes.
And it's like, Earth to Mom.
You know, Adidas have three stripes, not four.
Stay with me.
The boots your killer was wearing are the ten-inch
desert combat boots, made by that bastion of style,
Chinese manufacturer Wee-San.
They retail for about 183 yuan.
That's about $29.99.
Thanks, buddy.
You got it, friend.
(mouths) Check your Evite.
WADE: Upon opening Bud's
abdominal cavity, I found several organs were
severely damaged by the bayonet blade
being moved transversely within the body.
Meaning this wasn't a quick stab-and-run.
Killer probably twisted the blade back and forth
after he stabbed Bud?
That's what I thought, until...
I found this lovely sight.
PRIDE: Ouch.
In most stabbings, you don't see
such severe bruising because of the rapid blood loss.
But the discoloration here indicates
several hours of internal bleeding.
What I couldn't figure out was why.
That's when I realized that perhaps
the victim wasn't stabbed by the bayonet,
but instead...
impaled.
You see...
...if the bayonet had merely
punctured the victim's blood vessels,
it would cause a rapid flow of blood from the exit wound,
like this.
But if the victim was
impaled by the bayonet,
it would exert enough force on the vessels
to actually stop the bleeding.
So Bud and the killer fought.
Bud goes crashing through the guard railing,
lands on the bayonet.
At which point, the victim struggles for hours
to free himself from the weapon.
So, while I was correct
that he died between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m...
He was assaulted earlier.
Somewhere between noon and 4:00.
You may have a gingerbread.
You're welcome.
We've been looking at the wrong part of the security tape.
According to Pride,
Bud was attacked by his killer as early as 12:00 p.m.
Museum opens at 1100.
What was the schedule of events that day?
The American Legion had a gift drive from noon to 3:00.
I'll start downloading security cam files
from earlier in the day.
We'll refresh the caffeine.
What's up with this whole
"Lasalle hates Christmas" thing?
You've known him a while; you tell me.
Couple years-- I mean,
wouldn't say I have the inside track on him or anything.
Chris is a great guy.
He's funny, smart, easy on the eyes.
But?
He acts like he's this open book.
Half the time, I can't read him.
LASALLE: I found him.
2:22.
WATKINS: There's our hunter.
BRODY: Let's see if he finds his prey.
There he is-- the east overhead.
Zoom in.
Seems to be having...
some sort of confrontation with this guy.
There.
Bud followed him into the roped-off area.
Can you get closer?
Yep.
Come on now.
Real blurry.
Think Bruce can handle it?
Watch and learn, sister.
(trilling)
Attaboy.
Len Bowers.
Well, look what we got here.
From Bud's files.
BRODY: He's got a downtown address.
Fifth floor apartment's rented to a Trish Parker.
Wonder if Trish knows she's shacking up with a charlatan.
(sniffs)
Something's burning.
(whispers): It's cold.
Ready?
NCIS!
Hands in the air!
Baby, run!
No! No! (grunting)
Leave him alone!
(grunting)
♪ ♪
(engine revving)
(tires screech)
Baby, get on!
What the hell?
All right, BOLO's out on Bonnie and Clyde.
Meantime, what do we know?
According to Bud's file,
Len Bowers was rejected from the forces three times
for failing his physical.
That's when he decided to enlist in the make-believe military.
BRODY: Started showing up at events and social media sites
claiming to be a decorated Marine.
Apparently, he met Backwoods Barbie on SoldierMingle.com.
BRODY: Clearly, Trish was trying
to burn any evidence connecting Len with the crime.
(sighs)
Explosive Ordnance Disposal.
Navy bomb tech.
Those guys are the real deal.
So's the jacket.
DoD identification number.
Have Addie run the number through DEIDS.
All right? See if she can figure out who it belongs to.
It looks like
Len and Trish was planning a romantic getaway.
Checked the Greyhound schedule less than an hour ago.
Must be dozens of buses running across the Gulf
at any given time.
64, to be exact.
Put an alert out to local authorities.
Eyes on at every station.
Huh.
Let me guess.
Wee-San.
If you guys will just be patient for a few more moments.
Agent Pride, this is Marshall and Liza Chase.
Jacket you found in that apartment
was issued to their son Zack.
Nice to meet you folks. When I checked their son's
OMPF file, he was listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown,
at which point I contacted the...
My wife and I want to know why you're asking about Zack.
Marsh, please.
PRIDE: Mr. and Mrs. Chase,
we believe your son
may be indirectly involved in a case we're investigating.
That's impossible.
Our son was killed in Afghanistan almost a year ago.
This is Zack.
He was on a mission in Afghanistan clearing land mines.
There was an accident.
An abandoned building exploded.
It was the last time anyone saw our son.
ISAF troops searched extensively for Zack's remains.
They recovered traces of skin and bone fragment
that matched his DNA.
We're... we're very sorry.
We-we didn't...
Zack died doing what he loved best.
Said there was nothing better than watching a displaced family
go home
after he made it safe for them.
Must've made you proud.
Mm, he did. (chuckles)
Sure gave us a run for our money as a kid though.
Climbing on roofs,
falling out of trees.
He was our little Tasmanian devil.
Taz.
Name kind of stuck.
Mr. and Mrs. Chase, we're trying to figure out
how your son's jacket got into the hands of a murder suspect.
I can tell you how. It's not his.
You all said this guy was a... was a phony.
The jacket's got to be fake, too.
But if there was a chance...
Damn it, Liza.
Our son is gone.
At some point,
we got to close the book, try and move on.
May I see it?
The jacket.
(gasps softly)
Celtic shield knot?
For protection.
Sewed one into Taz's jacket
when he got deployed.
It's his, Marshall.
It means somebody found his body.
Please, if there's any information
on our son's death...
We'll do whatever it takes to help you find closure.
I promise you that.
It's a risky move,
promising that family answers.
It's all a little close to home for you, huh?
Yeah, I gave that a...
another shot.
Same thing.
Just caused my family pain.
I'm sorry.
I know what they're going through, King.
I mean...
every time that couple hits that wall...
it's like they're losing their son all over again.
Sebastian just texted.
He got something off Bowers' boot.
Yeah, right there.
Brody and I will
focus on finding Len Bowers,
figure out how he got his hands on that jacket.
You take Addie.
Start looking back into Zack's case.
King, I'm not sure... Learn things.
It'll do you good.
We'd swept half the village for explosives,
but it was getting dark.
So... had to call it a day.
Decided to head back to the F.O.B.
That was when Zack said
he saw someone wander into the red zone.
I've told all of this
to the command investigators already.
We understand. We're just trying to figure out
how Petty Officer Chase's jacket could have survived the blast.
(sighs) I...
tried to stop him from going back.
But Zack...
wouldn't listen.
Next thing I know, there's
a crazy explosion.
White light knocked me clear on my ass.
Taylor, can you remember
if Zack had on his tech jacket
before he went back in that building?
Gone over that day at least a hundred times in my head,
just trying to make sense of it all.
Wondering whether there was
something I could've done different.
But I can say that
Zack was wearing his jacket.
Sure of it.
MAN: Taylor!
TAYLOR: If y'all don't mind...
(chuckles) my training partner's waiting on me.
Of course.
Thank you, ma'am. Thank you.
Good luck.
MAN: Come on, let's hit it!
SEBASTIAN: Phloem sap.
Phloem what?
Sap. Like from a tree?
See, while the barbecue flames managed to broil the better part
of these boots, they didn't singe off everything.
There was a small speck of sap on the right sole.
Stubborn bugger held on even as the heat rose,
which allowed me to run a particle test, and...
Krakatoa!
Still working on that catchphrase, huh?
Back to the drawing board. In any event,
I discovered that the sap came from a bald cypress tree,
a tree which happens to be indigenous
to our own Atchafalaya Basin.
Atchafalaya Basin?
That's 337 area code.
There were two calls placed there
from Trish and Len's apartment.
And, look, there happens to be
a Greyhound bus station there, too.
Loved the look on her face
when she got off that bus.
Would've loved it more if Len Bowers had been there.
Thinking good cop or bad cop?
Thinking... girl cop.
No word from Len yet.
Probably doesn't have reception.
Yeah.
Not a lot places without cell towers these days.
He'll call.
I know he will.
Look, I get it.
You're in love.
Head over heels, pit in the stomach,
whole nine yards.
What do you know about it?
Plenty.
Name was James.
Met at a party.
Pretty much inseparable from the get-go.
One morning, we were having breakfast.
Poured myself some Shredded Wheat.
And there it was, sitting in the middle of my bowl.
Two carats, cushion cut.
He got down on one knee,
told me all the reasons he loved me,
how he wanted to grow old with me.
And? And...
then he was gone.
Where he'd go?
All I can say is,
nothing about James was what he said it was.
And the worst part?
Deep down... I knew it all along.
I think you know it, too.
Len's on his way to Mexico.
Here's the make and model of the truck
he borrowed from his cousin to get there.
Yeah, put a BOLO out on it stat.
Also, alert the border.
Copy that.
Story you told Trish-- true?
May have been a bowl of Shredded Wheat.
(siren wailing)
(tires screeching)
Hands where we can see them.
(handcuffs clicking)
Thank your girlfriend for giving us your 20, Len.
Ex-girlfriend, actually.
It was an accident.
I didn't mean to hurt anyone.
He just kept calling me a phony.
He has a name.
(scoffs)
Bud Samuels.
And considering you were impersonating
a United States naval officer?
I tried to serve.
Didn't make the grade.
Said I was defective, on account of the fact
that I got a stupid heart murmur.
Then this jerk comes along rubbing salt in my wounds.
I just snapped.
Snapped is when you punch a guy.
Impaling them to death is a whole other ball game.
I pushed the guy.
I didn't mean for him to break through that rail.
When I looked down and I saw that bayonet through his gut...
got scared, so I ran.
Okay, now that we got the murder part squared away.
Something else.
We found an EOD jacket in your apartment.
Belongs to a petty officer named Zack Chase.
Need to know where you got the coat.
No reason to help you.
No. No, you sure don't.
And this kid, Chase...
...his family needs answers.
You can help give them some.
This is your chance here.
Your chance to be a real hero, Len.
Hameed.
Guy who sold me the jacket.
Find him, you'll get your answers.
WADE: I was up all night
trying to make sense of the Navy's medical examiner's report
on the explosion that killed Petty Officer Chase.
What's the quandary?
Anti-personnel mines
laid by the Russians in Afghanistan
were designed to devastate,
not vaporize,
which would leave far more of the petty officer's DNA
than just traces of
bone fragments and skin. It just doesn't add up.
I might have something to contribute to the equation.
Feels like eighth grade science all over again.
I wouldn't know. I was taking organic chemistry
at the local university by then.
While wearing women's sneakers.
Anyway, this is a mock explosion using compounds
typically found in a military-grade land mine.
Safety first.
Fire in the hole.
(loud pop)
As you can see, it emits a black mushroom-like cloud.
But Zack's coworker Taylor described
the explosion aftermath as a bright, white light.
Do either of you know what emits that type of cloud?
Now would be the time to fill us in, dear.
It's TATP.
It's a chemical most commonly found
in improvised explosive devices.
Kind used by insurgents and terrorists.
Mm-hmm. WADE: IED explosion
would be more in line with the type
of trace evidence found at the explosion site.
Still doesn't explain what happened to Zack's body.
What if there was no body?
My theory is that it was moved.
In certain cultures, rebel factions will display corpses
as a show of power.
U.S. serviceman would offer the ultimate bragging right.
Question is: where did they move it to?
Hey.
Been looking for you.
Oh, just had to get some air.
Heard we got a lead on the jacket.
Barely.
Len Bowers said he bought it
from some rug importer named Hameed.
It's a start.
It's a freakin' needle in a haystack is what it is.
You're doing your best, Chris.
That's not good enough.
I mean, Mr. Chase was right.
We should have just let this go.
And where would that leave his wife?
Wouldn't you want your family to keep searching?
I'm not sure what I'd want anymore.
My older brother, Cade--
I haven't seen him in almost five years.
Were you two close?
(chuckles)
Yeah, I worshipped him.
He was that guy.
All-state quarterback, honor roll.
One who got all the girls.
(chuckles softly)
Summer he turned 21,
he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
He would stay up for a whole week and then crash for days.
And four years ago, he didn't show up for the holidays.
Few weeks went by.
Then a month.
We searched everywhere for him.
Shelters, hospitals.
We set up a hot line.
I mean, I'm a cop, Addie. This is what I do.
I find people. I solve mysteries.
And I haven't been able to do a damn thing about my own brother.
I'm sorry.
(phone chirps)
Brody found a signed shipping order from the docks.
"Hameed Azizi."
Go.
(ship horn blowing)
Hameed Azizi?
Yes?
NCIS.
(sighs) Didn't even have time to stretch.
Why do they always run?
This is where I tell you to put your hands up!
On your head.
I thought you were tax people coming about my import license.
We'll worry about your license later.
Right now, we're here to talk to you about this jacket.
The one you sold this guy.
Where'd you get it?
At the port.
Here in New Orleans?
In Karachi.
I visit a few times a year to get rugs to sell.
There is a boy, Sami-- he helps me load cargo.
He was wearing the coat.
Why'd you want it?
There's a market for these things,
and I'm a businessman.
This boy, Sami-- where'd he get it?
LASALLE: Ghazni.
It's a province about 100 klicks south of Daykundi,
which is where the explosion occurred.
Thanks. Navy LNO in Ghazni located the boy.
They're patching him through right now.
(monitor beeps)
Agent Pride, Lieutenant Commander Blake Conner.
We located the child wrangling odd jobs at the port.
Hi, Sami.
Wanted to ask you a few questions.
Sami...
do you remember this jacket?
Can you tell me where you got it?
In my village, when I was working for Mujahed.
Rebels?
And they gave you the jacket?
They paid me to bring rice and water to the man in the hole.
The one who was fixing the cell phones.
Taz.
He's the one who gave me the jacket.
BRODY: Taz?
Zack Chase may still be alive.
When was the last time you saw the man in the hole?
A month ago.
What do you say, King?
I say we're going to Afghanistan.
If Sami's intel is good,
we're gonna find Petty Officer Chase
in a bunker somewhere
in the southeast quadrant of that village.
Go time.
Let's move.
You sure your husband doesn't need something?
Coffee, something to eat?
No, he needs to be out there.
Being occupied.
His way of dealing.
I remember when we first got the call
about Zack-- the explosion.
I just...
sat there on the couch and wept.
Marsh-- he went out to the garage,
pulled out his toolbox.
Said he needed to replace the washer in the faucet.
Thing had been dripping for months.
We all have our coping mechanisms.
His is being practical.
For me, practical gets in the way of possible.
♪ ♪
(metal creaks)
We're too late.
He's gone.
No sign of blood or a struggle.
Cell phone bases.
Sami was wrong.
Zack wasn't fixing cell phones.
He was being forced to make detonators.
Insurgents have been trying to get around
our jamming devices for years.
It's a perfect job for a EOD tech.
Yeah.
Explains why there was no chatter
after Zack got captured.
He was their secret weapon.
King.
He must have been counting the days.
If he was, he's terrible at math.
BRODY: Two rows total 97.
Should be triple that.
Chase disappeared almost nine months ago.
Okay, wait a minute.
If you add the two rows separately, you get 31 and 66.
Look at that gap.
They're coordinates.
Latitude is commonly designated by the plus sign,
so that's the top row.
And longitude is usually the minus sign,
which means it's the bottom.
31 latitude.
66 longitude.
Shu Buldak compound, 70 miles south of here.
We got it. Lieutenant.
Let's move.
Mount up!
(silenced gunshot, man grunts)
(man shouts, silenced gunshot)
(automatic gunfire)
(men shouting in native language, gunfire continues)
(man shouting in native language)
(continues shouting in native language)
Hey! (shouts)
(panting)
(grunting)
Zack Chase?
Yeah.
Can you walk? Yeah.
They tried to get me to build them a detonator.
But I wouldn't do it.
That's when they talked about moving me.
We'd swept the munitions plant before.
I knew the coordinates, so I scratched them into the wall.
Something inside me just told me not to give up.
Got your mom's outlook on the world.
Oh! Mom!
Oh! Zack.
(crying softly)
Special Agent Pride.
I almost gave up on getting him back.
And you didn't.
Thank you.
(laughs) Dad!
(sighs)
(talking quietly)
(Zack laughs softly)
LIZA: Oh, my baby.
Where you off to?
To Jackson Square for some caroling.
What can I say?
I'm a sucker for "Little Drummer Boy."
(laughs) Nothing wrong with that.
Either of you care to join me?
PRIDE: Well, jet lag's gonna
ruin any chance of sleep, so...
guess I'm in.
Christopher?
Oh, y'all go ahead. Got a few things to finish up.
Good night, Lasalle.
Good night, Brody.
I'll meet you there.
All right.
You okay?
Yeah.
You told me to go learn things.
I was looking at it all wrong.
He changed his last name-- Cade Lambert.
It's our mother's maiden name.
Looks like an opportunity.
Let me know if you need some help.
Appreciate it, King.
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas, y'all.
(chuckles)
What are you doing here, Watkins?
Just checking in on a friend.
That's a lucky friend.
Damn straight he is.
Finding Zack,
bringing him home to his parents...
It was a good day.
Yeah.
Couldn't have done it without you.
Was that a compliment?
Could take it back. Too late. (laughs)
So what do you say we head up to Jackson Square
and listen to the carols?
You sure? 'Cause that might ruin your Scrooge cred.
Come on.
Well, after, we could catch a midnight showing
of It's a Wonderful Life.
Now, don't push your luck.
All right, Lasalle. (laughs)
Captioning sponsored by CBS
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org .