all the day.
So here it is, Merry Christmas.
Everybody's having fun.
Look to the future now, it's only just a cloud.
So here it is, Merry Christmas.
Hello?
Bye!
Peter!
Where are we going with this right over here turn it right turn it right turn it
right okay what is that it's a Christmas tree you're joking no no Douglas first
scotch pine Bruce Bruce these are Christmas trees this is LA Eddie wait
do you see the menorah I am so oh mr. G Q what's up with the big boy clothes
but he's got a hot date huh no mommy in town for the holidays no thank goodness
job interview you're leaving us whoa who's leaving us it's got a job interview
where no where I did not have a job interview I just thought that I would
dress it up today uh-huh you backed into Eddie's Jag again now don't even kid
about that well personally I think you look fantastic
I love men in suits and uniforms and costumes when did I date anybody who were
accosting what about the pirate guy didn't make you wear a milk made outfit
that was for Renaissance fair and I was a winch so much better oh dear Lord
Eric that shirt is wrong on so many levels thank you what's up ladies ATM
footage from the bank in Westwood Asher Ross was withdrawing $100 from his
checking account 807 a.m. last Thursday when he got a cell phone call it was his
last he was killed by what appears to be some sort of explosive device planted
in his phone now Ross was no stranger to explosives he's a former staff sergeant
with a Marine EOD unit explosive ordinance disposal six months ago he was
part of a convoy hit by a roadside bomb in Fallujah green Marines were killed
several others were severely injured Ross was given a medical discharge because
he lost the hearing in one of his ears all right Eric phone records find out
where the trigger call originated and dumb forensics on Ross's phone and
personal belongings we'll check out the 18 where he was killed we might be able
to get some additional footage from across the street at the store maybe
even the traffic can anything yes Ross got a coffee in a muffin then stopped to
buy the LA Times before hitting the ATM kind of muffin seriously you can tell a
lot about a person by their choice of breakfast pastries take Sam for instance
spicy cinnabar ignore now if Santa was working the day of the bomb and he
might have seen something maybe our bad guys on his naughty list wait wait
hold on Sam I checked already there's nothing yeah Eric what do you got a
call the trigger the bomb and Ross's cell phone originated in the same cell
site which means that the caller was within half a mile or so of the explosion
could have been closer than that you might have been watching the killer
could have got a prepaid phone to make the trigger call yeah I already traced it
it's at that end kill use a prepaid cell phone place the call then threw it
away there's no way to track it Eric is the trigger phone still in service
doesn't appear to be probably turned it off before he tossed it Eric you can
remotely reactivated right yep do it all right so I'll try to find a cell phone
see if we can pull some prints track back the way purchasing we'll go check out
Ross's house yep
you know the most obvious suspect is gonna be someone in Ross's bomb disposal
unit but we cannot forget that he also studied chemical engineering so what one
of his fellow students had a beef with him so he cooked up some explosive and
wired his phone but I do think that Eric needs to do background check on
everyone in his class is just in case
you have to excuse the mess my wife is supposed to help me pack up those things
I sure was her only son she's just not ready yet I'm very sorry for your loss
sir mr. Ross there may be some evidence in your son's belongings that could
help our investigation police already went through everything nothing here
it'll bring him back you have any idea who may have wanted to hurt your son I'd
like to say my son didn't have any enemies but I wasn't close enough to him
to know you had a falling out no just working a lot trying to make sure my
family's taking care of one day you're missing little league and next thing you
know they're moving out and all that time in between it's just lost that sure ever
talked to you about his time in the Marines or school no last time we talked
argued it was about money he'd lived a lot of his savings to a marine buddy and
wasn't paying him back do you have a name King but don't ask me first last nickname I
just know they were together in Iraq ever since Asher was literally one to be a
Marine I just wish he could be ate again we could start over okay Sam I just
reactivated the phone that called Asher Ross I'm sending its GPS signal to your
phone should be accurate to within a couple meters got an alley lots of
garbage couple of dumpsters probably toss in one of them I call a cell phone what
if it's booby-trapped to just do it Eric no gate
all right it's ringing
oh Sam you're right rest around garbage full of maggots hate maggots oh
don't think of them as the M word think of them as the larval form of flies you know
sterile versions are actually used in medical procedures as a form of wound
debridement a lot of it goodbye Eric hello oh this is worth it yeah Eric run a
search on a guy named King you serve with Asher Ross yeah all right I got a
Hastings King also a member of Ross's EOD unit he was severely injured in the same
convoy attack in Fallujah got an address yeah just off Colorado Avenue not too far
from Sam they call Sam have him check out King we're headed back
okay
and mr. King we're closed now get lost your customer service needs some work I'm
NCIS Asher Ross is dead I'll show me your hands and come out before I pull you
out seriously you need to get lost now I've got a little problem here hey yes you
have
called LAPD bomb squads away great last thing I needed some civilian blowing up
my garage bombs probably wired into the car's ignition
see anything on the battery no it looks like she's tied into the starter
there's something the size of a cell phone wrapped in electrical tape must
be a secondary device impressive lucky I stopped by King this is a two-man
job green why on three no yellow one for me tricky switch the color just to be
difficult on three go for it one two three
I bet you didn't wake up this morning thinking you might get blown to hell can
say I did how'd you find it that was luck yeah you had a tranny leak so I rolled
underneath to take a look there she was
still getting used to the leg let it then slow you down in the business
department no Wall Street took care of that it's not why you didn't pay Asher
Ross back the money and let you that's why you're here you think I killed Asher
Ross so I didn't have to pay him back just covering all the angles where were
you last Thursday working alone and Asher Ross saved my ass more than once he's
the only one who took a chance and loaned me the bucks to get started yeah got a
little behind payment you think I'd kill him over that any idea what no I would
need to take that back for analysis I'm dropping okay this is what's left of
Asher Ross's laptop from the explosion getting anything off it it's gonna be
tough preliminary forensic show Ross's cell phone fragments had traces of HMX
HMX is a military-grade explosive and it's expensive and hard to get which means
our bomber needed access or he ripped it off I'll check for any reports of theft
right killer had to have access to Ross's cell phone in order to wire it with
an explosive of that Ross knowing what about this cell phone that Sam found
nothing prepaid no prints killer must have wiped it clean before tossing it
keep working on that laptop Eric Ross and Hastings King were on the same bomb
disposal unit for nine months that sounds like a short time but considering
the burnout rate they're old-timers disabling bombs that can blow you to
hell the slightest mistake takes its toll work often results in PTSD King appears
to be coping but given all that he suffered some of the more severe
symptoms might take months to manifest untreated it can cause massive
personality change oppression aggression aggressive enough to blow one of
your buddies heads off if you get a beef it's not out of the question full
Windsor really again that's the time had you picked more as a half-winter kind of
guy that's supposed to have some sort of meaning you're the psychologist
Wow shouldn't you be working on that somewhere a little more secure like
where I don't know a room with armor plated walls comes to mind lights
good in here I will buy you a lamb King said it was diffuse he seemed to know
what he was doing relax million dollar question is do you know what you're
doing oh this is not good Sam he had a secondary micro detonator inside it
has a mercury switch don't anybody move sorry about that full Windsor it's a
Christmas miracle we got something off Ross's laptop he had lunch two days
before he died with Stanton Olin was another member of his EOD unit in Iraq
that's access and ability Olin's got motive he's our guy wasn't really a
miracle it was just me doing what I do that shirt is awesome neat what's up dude
psych evaluations are coming up in a few weeks and I'll be interviewing team
members and for that you need my signature yeah and who interviews you
Mr. Getz doesn't work that way doesn't seem fair somehow does it what's you do
your tie oh I spilled something on it should I get it dry cleaned no that's
an option soda water I'd recommend either donation or incineration not in
that order you don't like this time it was a gift obviously not from a loved
oh come on let's go cheer you up you're wondering about the suit oh no a man
doesn't need an excuse to be fashionable and besides you look so
professional I tried the whole West Coast casual thing and I think it was
working against me you know with the agents I know undercover work is
difficult and dangerous and I know they've been forced to take on roles
and do things that they're not proud of but they think that bearing memories is
better than talking about them come let's try a half Windsor this time it can
make such a difference there you go you know in my experience if you're
patient sooner or later the people who need to talk will seek you out often
under the guise of some other intention you just have to listen
you think I could pull off a bow tie not without a red rubber nose and those
big floppy shoes
well it's got quite the view yeah sit on his porch at night and watch the drive
buys
Get out right now.
Poland.
Federal agents. Stop!
Poland!
Come on.
Eric, bring me an ambulance.
So your buddy Ross gets killed, we turn up and you take off?
So why'd you run?
Someone's been following me.
Ross ever mentioned anything about being followed?
I just said I was being paranoid.
I was being paranoid.
Who's doing this?
Who wants us dead?
Footage from an LAPD traffic cam.
Not likely triggered by a timer.
There's no way of knowing exactly when he'd get back into his car again.
Well it's not rigged to the starter otherwise it would have blown up as soon as he turned the key.
Could have been remote detonation, same as Ross.
Rewind?
Back window of the car.
Clean it up, Eric.
Probably some neighborhood kids, wash me, things like that.
You know, when I was in high school I wrote, I wish my girlfriend were this dirty on my principal's car
and I thought it was very funny until I got expelled.
It's from the Koran.
Alameda, chapter 5, verse 10.
Those who reject our faith and deny our signs shall be companions of hellfire.
Seems like Ross and his buddies might have brought back more from Iraq than they realized.
I'm here to help you, Holland.
But you're gonna have to trust me.
That's my fault, Ross was dead.
Why do you think that?
Because I didn't try hard enough to convince him that something was going on.
He shut me down.
So I stopped trying.
Maybe it's because you didn't want to believe it yourself.
Sometimes it's easier to pretend something's not happening than to face it.
Yeah, well I just faced it.
Okay?
Just like I faced it every day out there.
Every day.
My partner and I spent a little time in Fallujah.
Augmentina Marine Expeditionary Force.
More bad days than good ones.
The last thing I wanted to do was talk about it.
It helped.
The only way to quiet it is to get it out.
I'm afraid if I give it even a glimpse of light, it'll swallow me.
I know.
I guess if anyone deals with it differently,
King threw himself into his business.
I found God.
Ross did the best. He just moved on.
Before the bombing,
somebody wrote a warning in Arabic on the back of your vehicle.
It was a warning from the Quran.
You have any idea who might have left that?
There was a guy in our unit, Tariq.
He was Muslim.
He was Muslim?
I didn't know him very well.
No one did.
Have you seen him since you've been back?
I know he had family here in LA.
I don't even know if I'll recognize him if he walked by me in the street.
Why wouldn't you recognize him?
My ED.
He was badly burned in the explosion.
His back, his arms, his face.
Maybe he blames us for that.
Tariq Barad, al-Jabiri born and raised in Michigan,
followed his older brother to Los Angeles in 06
where he joined up a few months later.
Service records clean as a whistle.
Last known address was a house in Mar Vista.
Name of the lease is Kimberly Johnson.
Right.
I haven't seen Tariq since he got back.
The court told me he'd been hurt.
That he'd been disfigured.
I tried to see him in the hospital, but he wouldn't allow it.
He wouldn't see me, he wouldn't take my calls.
He didn't even respond to my emails.
Mommy, when are we gonna see Santa?
Real soon, honey.
Why don't you go put on your blue dress
so you can get your picture taken?
Okay.
My daughter, Ellie, is Tariq's niece.
I was in a relationship with Tariq's brother.
After he found out I was pregnant, he was out of here fast.
I'm sorry.
Yes, it was I.
I thought he loved me.
But Tariq stepped up and supported us.
Treated Ellie like she was his own.
And after a while...
You fell in love.
Yeah, very much so.
We were building a great life together.
Then he shipped off to Iraq.
And now he's finally back, but he's still gone.
I just want him to come home so that we can be a family again.
Did Tariq get along with all the guys in his unit?
Were there any conflicts over religious beliefs?
Tariq was very tolerant.
He even let Ellie have a Christmas tree.
He loved her.
He still drops money off for us every month.
Security cam footage from Cali South mailboxes.
According to Kim Johnson, Tariq drops cash off here for his family once a month.
And this was two days ago?
Yeah.
Could be our guy.
Tariq goes over to fight for his country, but he gets badly disfigured.
Starts to question his belief in the war, America, even his fellow Marines.
Forgets whose side he's on.
Maybe we should stake out the store.
It's too long to wait. Somebody could be dead by tomorrow.
The clock is ticking.
We could make a special delivery.
Is that a...
Yep, it's a bomb.
Paul?
We believe this bomb may have come from one of your mailboxes.
Hey, who are you guys?
We're working on my security.
I think I should call my boss.
Recognize this guy?
Yeah, that's a trick question.
How can you recognize him when half his head's gone?
Box 117.
Want a name and address.
Strong possibility there's another one of these coming next week.
Strong possibility there's a bomb just like this
in one of those mailboxes right now.
I'd hurry up, Paul.
Rented by Asher Ross.
Deja vu.
Clare.
Gee.
Found this in Asher's bedroom.
Looks like our boy Tarek's found a place to stay.
And to work.
What's going on?
So we have Ross, a former Marine EOD specialist
who's blown up with his own cell phone.
Then we have another member of his unit, Olin,
who's nearly blown the hell in his own car.
Then we have our boy King who finds a bomb under his truck
and disarms it with a little help from yours truly.
It's Tarek who we now know is staying at Ross's place
and working with King.
So Tarek is the common vector.
Why didn't King mention him?
These guys have been the hellin' back together.
King didn't tell Tarek's family, why would he tell us?
If they were buddies, why would Tarek place a bomb
under King's truck?
I think it's time someone pays another visit to King.
You don't still have that, uh, wench outfit, do you?
Can I help you?
Yeah.
This thing's been coughing and jumping like a brawmable.
So, uh, is Tarek here?
Sort of tall, dark, handsome.
I'm the only handsome one here.
In fact, I'm the only one working here.
Oh.
Because you see, I met this guy, Tarek, at a gas station
and he was wearing a shirt with your logo on it.
Quality automotive?
So, that's how I knew to come here.
Never had anybody named Tarek working here.
Sorry.
When's the last time you put some carburetor cleaner
through this thing?
I don't know.
I've been out of town, so it's been sitting for about a month.
Leave your man waiting a month, too?
This bike has twin keins on it.
The carburetor looks all right.
Let's take a look at the throttle control rod.
You in the core?
Yup.
Don't tell me you're a marine, too.
My father was.
I grew up moving from base to base.
I was even, uh, engaged with Jarhead once.
You managed to escape?
Killed at Fallujah.
I'm sorry.
Let's see what's, uh, giving this bike into gesture.
Is that true about Kenzie being engaged?
I don't know.
But if it is, it explains all the serial dating.
Yeah.
Here's your problem right here.
These spark plugs aren't stock.
You gotta stick with factory or the island sensors, miss Reed.
You get a bumpy ride.
You know, Tarek said he was a marine,
and now I know you devil dogs stick together, so, uh...
Come on.
Hook her up.
All right, baby.
Hey.
We'll get somebody down here and watch the dog keep it.
That's our girl.
Want a beer?
Drink it while I have.
Hey, Tarek.
Here she is, you lucky dog.
Who are you?
Tarek.
We ended up together.
Who are you?
Tarek.
We're NCIS agents.
Hey!
Who are you?
Told you he'd run.
I know, I know. I hate when they run.
What's the matter with you?
Throwing a hammer at my head.
You line bitch.
You set me up.
I'm NCIS, but my father was a marine.
Oh, yeah?
How does he feel about his daughter growing up
to be a professional liar?
Good news, Mr. Allen.
Tarek's been taken into custody.
Tarek?
In relation to Ross's murder.
Me and Ross, we were coming back from the patrol.
We saw these two old ladies huddling in the doorway.
We offered them a couple candy bars.
I think they just appreciated the gesture.
But, um...
It's okay, Allen.
Let's take your time.
I don't know where this other lady
comes since she's younger.
With a baby.
Then Tarek starts shouting at her in Arabic,
telling her to move away and stuff.
Move away, move away. Everything to him was a security risk.
The woman with the baby wanted your help?
Everybody was shouting.
And the old ladies were crying and...
I was just trying to get them all to settle down.
I don't know.
And then Tarek starts firing his gun right by my head.
Ross, too.
I turned back around.
I thought that...
the woman...
the baby...
the old ladies...
I guess I just...
never really got a chance to talk to anybody about this.
You should.
You need to.
I want you to have this.
Can you read the Bible?
I've skimmed.
I have a...
poor woman.
I'll read again.
It would mean a lot to me.
You took...
helped me out through a lot of tough times.
Who knows, maybe it'll help you someday.
Thank you.
I appreciate it.
He would have been very proud.
And you look like you could use some tea.
This is a holiday blend with cinnamon and safflower petals.
Well, thank you.
Well, you're welcome.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Congratulations.
It seems you may have caught our mad bummer.
You don't seem very thrilled.
No.
I mean, yes.
I hope so.
I just wish that...
you know what? I don't know.
I just think that when it comes to going undercover,
I deal with the danger a lot better than the danger.
I see.
Like with Hastings King, for example.
Today.
Some of what I told him was true,
some of it was a complete lie,
and some of it was a...
was a combination of both.
Deception, you perpetrate, is a necessity.
Can't see.
You need to embrace it.
Not fear it.
I'm sure you're fine with that.
Not fear it.
I'm sure your father would agree.
Anyway, if men wanted the truth all the time,
I wouldn't have a French maids' outfit in my boudoir, would I?
You have a...
Just drink your tea, dear heart.
Forensics reports to random explosives.
Two different types are used.
Two?
Yeah.
Tell me about Ross and King.
Ross and King let me couch-serve between their two places.
You and Ross were friends.
Ross saved my life.
He saved Olin and King, too.
When he pulled King out, the guy's leg was still up.
When he pulled King out, the guy's leg was still underneath me.
Wow.
Ross pulled Olin and King out first.
Do you resent that?
No.
Had he pulled you out sooner, you might not have suffered the burns you did.
If he hadn't pulled me out, I'd be dead.
No.
A dude is a frickin' hero.
Okay, let's go back before that.
Tell me about the Iraqi woman and her baby.
What woman?
You don't remember?
Olin and King were handing out candy bars to a couple of old ladies,
and you disapproved.
That sort of stuff looks great on the news,
but it's a security risk.
Old ladies?
When you move away from the vehicle,
you never know who's on the other side of that door,
or who's looking down at you from a rooftop.
Is that why you shot her?
I didn't shoot her.
You ordered her to step away from the vehicle,
and when she didn't, you shot a mother and her baby.
There was no baby.
She was carrying a 60-millimeter mortar shell
wrapped in a blanket with a hand trigger.
And I didn't shoot her.
Olin did.
He saved me.
He saved the old ladies and everybody else for half a block.
Olin shot a suicide bomber.
Yeah.
That's King.
Check your patrol logs if you don't believe me.
Did Olin ever talk religion to you?
Yeah, he was a Christian.
But he could quote the Koran or the Talmud
as easily as the Bible.
I'm getting a bad feeling about this.
Hey, guys.
We got the forensics from the bombs and Ross' cell phone,
King's truck, and Olin's car.
Ross' cell phone and King's car bomb
were both high-grade explosives,
tetrahexamine, tetra-nitra-min,
but the explosive in Olin's car was trinitrotoluene.
So much lower grade.
Right, and it was a shape charge
under the rear of the vehicle pointing away from the driver.
So it blew out of the car instead of in?
So basically it looks convincing,
but whoever said it must have known it wouldn't kill Olin.
Everything Olin told me was either a grossly distorted memory
or an outright lie.
He reads and writes an Arabic.
He could have written the note on the car.
Tarik's not the bomber.
Olin is.
What are the chances this place is wired?
It's between 99 and 100%.
Always the optimist.
All right.
Room's clear.
Olin, you in there?
NCIS.
Agent Callan in hand, and we're coming in to talk.
Olin, you in there?
NCIS.
Agent Callan in hand, and we're coming in to talk.
Wait.
Pressure pad.
Thanks.
Yeah.
Clear.
Sam.
Got a list of names and cities.
Got King, Ross, Tarik.
I bet the rest are all Marines as well.
Hit me, G.
Yeah, see if our boy Olin is on any flight manifest tonight.
These are receipts from today.
A-bottles of peroxide from Fairfax Beauty Supply.
So now we're chasing a blonde?
These are the ingredients for making TATP.
I must have ran out of HMX on that.
I was improvising.
TATP is highly explosive, but it's extremely unstable.
All right.
I got Sam and Olin on a flight to Atlanta tonight,
11.55 p.m. Delta Airlines.
Okay, alert airport police at LAX.
Hey, listen to this.
Inflaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God.
Sounds like the Quran quote Olin put on his car.
It's essentially the same, Olin.
This is from Thessalonians.
Oh, boy.
What?
The Bible was a gift from Olin.
Giving away prized possessions.
It's a warning sign of suicide.
Olin doesn't want to harm innocent people.
He wants to punish himself and those in his unit
have some strange twisted sense of penance.
Okay, you know what?
Call Callan.
I'm going to King's Garage.
Nate.
Olin wants to finish what he started with Hastings King.
Kenzie's headed there now.
Got it.
We're on our way.
Sam, let's go.
King?
King!
Hey!
Come on, we've got to go.
What the hell are you doing here?
I need to get you out of here now before Olin arrives to kill you.
Why in the hell should I trust you?
Because I'm telling you the truth.
Since when?
I was undercover.
I was trying to solve Russ' murder
and I really don't want to have to solve yours.
Okay?
So move!
King!
Olin?
You do not want to do this.
I don't want to.
But I have to.
I don't know what you're wired with, Olin.
But you, of all people, know that a suicide bomb
is not the way of a real warrior.
The stuff he's wired with is unstable.
Put a bullet in it, it could go off.
What about a headshot?
Just the impact of him falling.
We just chalk full of good news, aren't ya?
You can leave.
It's just King and I.
Who seek absolution?
For what we did in Iraq.
No one gets absolution by killing themselves.
But we did bad things.
It was a war.
Brings out the worst in men, but this isn't going to help.
Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission.
Kenzie, elbow!
Get the trigger!
No!
Eric, need an ambulance.
Looks like Hedy's still here.
She worries.
Not that she'd ever let us know.
I had some paperwork to be completed before tomorrow.
Mr. Callan, some of us take our paperwork seriously.
But with the successful outcome of our mission
and everyone's safe return,
I thought perhaps some tea might be in order.
No offense, Hedy,
but I don't think tea is going to cut it tonight.
Well, it's very special tea, Mr. Hanna.
Ben Gerriak, 1958.
Wow, that is some scotch, Hedy.
That's what Oliver Reed thought
when he tried to make me his special musketeer one night.
But he kept his sword in his scabbard
and I kept the scotch.
Looks like you also started without us, Hedy.
Oh, well, I got bored with my paperwork.
I figured I'd try and dress up this abomination.
Holy moly.
Wow.
And where's Nate?
He's been known to enjoy a good single malt.
He's busy spreading some cheer of his own.
Oh, dear.
Welcome home.
Go home, find a wench, raise fat babies, live a good, long life.
Go home, find a wench.