SAM: Positive reinforcement works. CALLEN: I prefer negative.
The silent treatment, the cold shoulder. Make people squirm, they'll perform.
SAM: It's also an acceptable form of human conduct.
CALLEN: Which I want nothing to do with.
You know, like IM'ing, or popping and locking.
Whatever. It's still the best operations report you will ever see,
- whether you want to admit it or not. - Let me see this.
Wow.
This is nice.
You got color-coded tabs. You got highlighted bullet points.
- Excuse me. - Wait a minute.
Did your mom help you with this?
I warned you about bringing up my mom.
It's very nice. I'm sure Hetty will give you a gold star.
I can't wait to see what you did for science fair.
- Maybe we ought to build a volcano. - Maybe I should--
- Throw me in one? - That's not what I was gonna say.
Well, I'm glad to see you two are closer than ever.
Mike Renko, back from the dead.
SAM: Hey, how was the vacation? - Ah. Very funny. Answer me this.
How come I'm squatting in a bush for two months, smacking bugs,
while you guys are out cruising the beaches?
Well, I guess you have a face for it.
Smoke out any bad guys?
I've been chasing this militia group. They call themselves ELE.
- Enhancing Law Enforcement. - Mm.
Yeah. It's been a tough one, but I finally got an informant.
Hopefully he can help us link them to weapons missing from Pendleton.
Hmm. Looks like you got your bunkmate back, G.
Love Boat sails again.
Not with me onboard.
I'll be staying with a friend.
- Right. - Wait a minute.
Back in town less than 24 hours and you're staying with a friend?
- It's-- - Astonishing.
--astonishing that a person of such modest appearances and charm...
Questionable personal hygiene
is, you know, racking up tail like, you know.
Hetty, wants you. Upstairs.
Oh, she said one point for whoever gets up here first.
Oh, hey. Whoa.
Are you punking us? Because you better not be.
- No, sir, I would not do that. - Then where is she?
HETTY [OVER SPEAKER]: I'm everywhere, Mr. Renko.
Or have you been on assignment so long you've forgotten?
ERIC: She's in Washington.
I apologize for not being with you, but the political world beckons.
Of course, our work doesn't stop while Washington tinkers.
So let's get to it.
Uh, Mr. Beale, please play the tape.
The man against the glass is a Marine reservist
who worked at an armory at Camp Pendleton.
Does anybody else think this is weird?
- Oh, yeah. We all think it's weird. - Just checking.
- Heard that, Mr. Callen. - How?
Marine Lance Corporal Edward Mackaye.
Mackaye was garrotted at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.
The entire incident was caught on something called a Fishcam,
which broadcasts 24/7 on the Internet.
Now this Mackaye, he's a reservist. Wouldn't that be a case for local P.D.?
I'll leave that for Mr. Renko to explain.
The case is yours, Mr. Callen.
Mackaye wasn't just punching a timecard.
He was my informant on the weapons case I've been following.
I've got it all here.
Over a three-month period, six Dragon anti-tank missiles disappeared,
somewhere between the manufacturer and Afghanistan.
Interchangeable warheads, small, portable scary as hell.
RENKO: We narrowed it down to an armory at Pendleton.
Prime suspect is Private Scott Riley.
Riley is very smart. We've not been able to hang anything on this guy.
Haven't been able to figure out how he got the Dragon off the base.
Eric, pull up everything you've got on Mackaye.
Yeah.
RENKO: That's when we approached Corporal Mackaye.
Good Marine, standup kid.
He worked in the armory with Riley.
Mackaye was supposed to be eyes and ears only.
Let us know if Riley was up to anything suspicious.
SAM: And how is this connected to the militia group?
We knew ELE was in the market for heavy firepower.
I've been trying to track down their base for months
but these guys just keep moving around. Mostly border areas.
- Just like the coyotes. - Exactly.
Illegals come across, ELE is right there waiting for them.
We pulled phone records going back a decade.
Turns out our Private Riley has a history
with two of ELE's suspected leaders.
This is Malcolm Tallridge, the charismatic founder.
His number two, John Bordinay, a paranoid nut job.
SAM: Brains and muscle.
We think that this is Bordinay behind the gun.
This video was leaked onto the web.
[WOMAN YELLING OVER SPEAKER]
RENKO: Last summer these guys chased 20 people into the desert.
All of them died of thirst, including three children.
It doesn't bother them. The deaths prove their point.
The situation's out of control and they need to engage.
They claim to be protecting our freedom.
We were hoping to lock these guys down
before they did something really crazy.
Like arming themselves with Dragon missiles.
I think maybe they just have.
VANCE: Welcome to D.C., Henrietta.
Director Vance.
Door-to-door service? How out of character.
Well, people can change. And I owe you one, big time.
You do. Especially for forcing me to leave the children in charge.
How much trouble can they get into in eight hours?
- Is that how long I'm going to be here? - Mm-hm.
Good gracious, you told me they had a few questions
regarding the security of your slush fund.
Think of it more along the lines of a friendly fireside chat
about the efficacy of the funding disbursement process
for the federal joint task force system.
Why don't they just throw me in a well and see if I float?
This isn't a witch hunt, Hetty.
Oh, I recall the same thing being said to my predecessor
before she disappeared.
Last I heard of Macy, she was working out of a Quonset hut in Djibouti.
WOMAN: Aah!
KENSI: Mackaye wouldn't have gone into the aquarium to meet anyone.
Not while it was being cleaned.
Now what I'm thinking is that someone was after him.
So he goes into the aquarium to hide, bad guy goes after him,
and, splat, Mackaye makes his guest appearance on Fishcam.
So Riley comes to the beach, our eyes and ears follows him.
Eyes and ears gets made. Bad guy goes rogue.
He panics, takes him out.
Why would the bad guy be here? I mean, there's no target to attack.
People are too spread out, it's far too exposed,
and it's lousy with law enforcement thanks to the port across the way.
CALLEN: Sam? SAM: Hmm?
Could you fit a Dragon missile into a sail bag?
With room to spare.
What are the chances Riley windsurfs?
DOMINIC: Security footage from Pendleton.
So Riley leaves the base in his SUV
with his windsurfing equipment on the roof rack.
The guards check everything. The front, the back, everything.
But they never open the sail bag.
CALLEN: Then Riley goes to the beach and covers his tracks.
Or that's where he delivered the weapons.
They take his sail bag, he takes theirs, return to base. Repeat step one.
Six times. Which is probably why Renko got nowhere.
SAM [OVER PHONE]: You hearing this, Kensi?
KENSI: Yeah. I'm staring at Riley's rig right now.
- Parked outside his apartment. - What about Riley?
I haven't seen him yet.
You know what? I'm gonna go have a sniff around,
see if he's been moving explosives.
[DEVICE BEEPS]
[GRUNTING]
Bad idea, private.
- You started without me. - Oh, my God.
You wandered off to observe the scenery.
I was checking Riley's mailbox.
What? No thanks for saving your ass?
My ass didn't need saving.
- Sure it didn't. - I'm sure it didn't.
Give me this.
Well, if anyone's ass deserves saving, it's yours.
RILEY: I thought you were stealing my sail.
So you garrotte me? You whack my head into a car?
It's a tough neighborhood.
You could have had a friend or a gun.
It turns out you had both.
Why don't you just tell me about your involvement with ELE?
Who?
The guys you sold the Dragons to?
Should she be alone in there with him? I mean, he's huge.
Riley's bigger and stronger, but she's meaner.
We searched his apartment. There's nothing of value there.
Eric and Dom combed through his bank accounts, his credit cards.
If this guy was getting paid, he's had some serious self-control.
Okay, Riley manages to get a Dragon off a secure base
on six different occasions. That's smart.
But when your guy Mackaye follows him,
Riley kills him on Fishcam?
- Not so smart. - Yeah, it's impulsive, desperate.
I don't know. I just get the feeling the game's changed.
He's lying, he's stonewalling, and he is messing with me.
Sounds like you on a second date.
Nothing you'll ever have to worry about.
He even used a different cord for his creepy garrotte m.o.
There is one thing I'm sure of.
He stole the missiles and he killed Mackaye.
And this guy's part Tim McVeigh, part 9/11 bomber.
He will never betray his cause.
- Freeing America? - But he's a follower, not a leader.
I think he's afraid of something.
Or someone.
Get out.
MAN: Private Riley? - Thank you.
He's all yours, boys.
See you tomorrow, Scott. We'll be talking some more.
What are you looking at?
It's a nice cattle car.
But you couldn't afford upholstery for the whole thing? Is that it?
I've been in a cell for three days, okay?
I want a shower, a shave, and a clean uniform.
- You shouldn't have dishonored it. - I have rights, you know.
You signed those away. Uncle Sam owns you.
You messed with him. I hope it was worth it, corporal.
"Hope it was worth it."
That's a nice guy.
[CALLEN SCOFFS]
Check out that MP outfit. You think he made those chevrons in shop class?
Why don't you leave me out of it?
Gee, look at you guys.
Get you two a room together, huh?
Hey, how many MPs does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Huh?
Fifty.
One to screw in the light bulb, 49 to stand guard.
That is the worst joke I've ever heard.
No kidding. What is Callen doing?
Psych 101. Forging a bond with Riley by creating a common enemy in Sam.
CALLEN: You want another? - No.
No.
Why don't MPs take showers before they go to battle?
They're just gonna wash up on the shore anyways.
You got a little smile.
I got a little smile there. How you doing?
ERIC [OVER PHONE]: This is Eric.
It's good to hear you still know who you are.
Ah. Hetty. You having a good time in Washington?
The last person to have a good time in Washington was General Jubal Early.
In 1864. He was attacking it at the time.
So the patients haven't burned down the asylum yet?
So far, so good.
- And how's Mr. Callen doing? - He is operational.
Operational?
Yeah. Renko's operation against the militia? We had a breakthrough.
What kind of a breakthrough, Eric?
These guys won't talk on a cell phone,
but Riley used his laptop to search porn, fringe propaganda sites,
and 247 addresses on Google Maps.
HETTY [OVER SPEAKER]: This is a crackpot, cockamamie operation.
I leave for a few hours and you all turn into lunatics.
These militia groups are far more paranoid
than you could possibly appreciate.
Now this is what I want you to do.
AUTOMATED VOICE: If you'd like to make a call,
please hang up and try again.
It wasn't me.
Ugh. Good Lord. Good Lord. Damn. Damn.
[PHONE RINGS]
- Don't answer it. - Hetty, Hetty, it's Nate.
We did a full risk analysis in every component
and we ran it by Director Vance and he signed off.
And why didn't you inform me?
NATE: You were in a Senate hearing.
Nate, you have no idea what you're up against here.
Your risk assessment is useless.
The dangers are unquantifiable.
Mr. Callen could be killed or worse.
Ms. Lange? The committee is ready for you.
Shut it down, Nate.
Hetty, it's too late.
Miss Lange.
I have something here.
Riley's hits on Google Maps? All 247 of them are federal buildings.
They're immigration processing centers.
I think we might have a list of potential targets.
CALLEN: Do you work out every day?
You probably have time for that, being an MP.
Work out, play dress-up.
Chasing guys like me around instead of America's true enemies.
I'm a true patriot. I'm proud of my country.
It's just the government that sucks.
[HORN HONKING]
[GUNFIRE]
What the hell? Someone's shooting.
- What the hell took you so long? - I got here, okay?
Get the keys. Give me the gun.
RILEY: What's going on? - It's not your problem, buddy.
- Who are these guys? - Not your problem. Come on.
RILEY: Wait. - Damn it.
- Wait. - Idiots.
Hey, man, what about me? You can't leave me here.
- "Leave me out of it." Remember? - Unlock me.
I can help us. I got friends.
- You know, we all got friends, buddy. - Listen to me. This guy is connected.
He's got people all over the country.
He can help us. He's got weapons. He's got food.
Safe places to stay, you know? They will never find us.
Riley's taking the bait. Callen has done in two hours
what easily could have taken two years to accomplish.
Infiltrate a paranoid extremist group.
- The party's over, boys. RENKO: Nice job, fellas.
Up.
Clear this out of here.
- You got the GPS locator? - Yep. Signal's strong and clear.
- Change of clothes? - In the back.
- Come on, come on. Let's go. SAM: Good, good.
Yo.
CALLEN: Please tell me we're not going camping.
- Are we camping? - No, we're not camping.
Because I hate camping.
Hold your fire, Jay! It's Riley.
- Give me the pistol. - I don't think so.
And the man we are going to see does not take kindly to strangers with guns.
You've gotta be kidding me.
I'm being shot at by a Jonas brother.
CALLEN: And I think I'm about to meet the rest of the family.
Point that thing at me again and I will break your neck.
- Take me to Malcolm. - He hates strangers.
Fine. It's your funeral.
It's Jay. I'm coming back. There's company.
Is there gonna be bathroom where we're going?
- You can go in the woods. CALLEN: I knew it.
I save your life, you take me camping.
At least where I come from, they got toilets.
And TV and fun.
At least where I come from, we know how to shut our mouth.
At least I don't have an Appalachian goatee.
At least I can grow one.
ERIC: Nate, you got a minute? I think you need to hear this.
Ten years ago, Hetty worked with an agent named Sullivan.
He was killed infiltrating a militia group.
- Well, that explains her reaction. - Yeah, but there's something else.
She personally recruited him to NCIS.
She was an operations manager on the joint task force with Miami P.D.
She wrote his recommendation letter to get him the job.
Said that he was the best young detective that she'd ever seen.
"Composed, confidant,
and mentally suited to the rigors of undercover work."
Remind you of anyone?
Yeah.
MAN: I'm sorry, this is a private meeting.
Jack, it's okay.
Why on God's green earth did you not tell me, Leon?
Excuse me, senators.
There are very few ways to infiltrate a militia. You have to jump at--
The reason you can't get in
is they're crazy and paranoid and dangerous.
Hetty, Callen is not Sullivan.
Now we deal with terrorists, cartels, and gangs every day.
There's no reason to think this will be any different.
- Jack? JACK: Yes, sir.
Will you please escort Miss Lange so she can finish her testimony?
Right this way, ma'am.
I'll take care of it, Hetty. I promise.
Some promises you can't keep, Leon.
There's been a lot of traffic through here, guys.
I'm thinking, about at least five different vehicles,
maybe one heavy truck.
I found Callen's earwig.
SAM: G's worried he's gonna get searched.
I guess the paranoia is contagious.
[CHATTERING]
NATE: Okay, here we go.
RENKO: That's one of the Dragons.
That's Malcolm Tallridge, the founder of ELE.
Nasty guy next to him is John Bordinay, his right-hand man.
Malcolm, Bordinay.
Riley, who's your friend?
RILEY: He was on the transport. His buddies sprung us.
- Where's the buddies? - Dead.
RENKO: I think we just hit the mother lode.
All five of the missiles are right in that cabin.
You killed a Marine,
you got yourself caught, and took out a transport?
Then you brought an outsider here?
How many ways are you gonna expose us?
It's safer this way.
No one gets picked up. No one answering questions.
SAM: This is the entire militia organization.
Hey, Dom, we need backup now.
Done.
On their way.
Callen will get out of there first chance he gets, right?
If he keeps his head down, we're home free.
Oh, yeah. Piece of cake.
He's right.
SAM: Don't fire unless you have to.
[MEN YELLING]
BORDINAY: Hold your fire. Hold your fire.
Don't shoot. Do not shoot.
Hold your fire. Hold your fire.
RENKO: What do we do now?
I don't want trouble, Malcolm.
You all seem like patriotic citizens.
You know how to hold up your end of a deal, am I right?
- Who's in the woods, son? CALLEN: You tell me.
I just want the keys to that truck and I'm gone.
No one gets hurt.
Don't worry. They're not gonna shoot us.
I'm not sure about that.
Call them off, Malcolm.
MALCOLM: Go ahead. Shoot the kid.
He's willing to die for his cause.
Is that what you want, Jay?
He'd rather not, Malcolm.
What do you say you and I have a conversation? We talk about this.
I need Director Vance on the phone. Get him out if that meeting.
We need that backup now. I have an agent in distress.
Dom's getting the ETA. They're on their way.
- Maybe Hetty was right. - Hetty's always right.
CALLEN: Jay is a kid.
And you don't need that kind of press.
Not gonna be good with your recruitment effort.
NATE: What is Sam doing?
[HORN HONKING]
SAM: Keep your cool.
I'm not armed.
I'm with the ATF. We have the camp surrounded.
I'm authorized to negotiate a settlement.
We don't want another Ruby Ridge.
We know about the Dragons. We know about Mackaye.
We've had agents watching you for three weeks. I'm here to talk.
What on earth is he doing?
- The other guy's an agent? - Yeah. Agent Callen.
Everybody's standing down. No one's coming in.
You and I have 30 minutes to make a deal.
KENSI: Hope backup gets here fast.
MALCOLM: Eyes open.
- It sounds like you have us in a bind. - It's textbook negotiation.
He's giving the illusion he has a bargaining chip.
But he doesn't.
Let's see how good you are.
Go get your friend then we'll talk.
Let him through.
SAM: G, I'm coming to you.
CALLEN: I hope you have a better plan than this.
MALCOLM: Move those bodies.
SAM: Okay, everything's good.
- Now what? - You think the ATF is gonna come in,
guns blazing, when there's hostages involved?
Guess you'll have to wait 30 minutes to see.
Jay, come here.
Come here.
Hey, come on, man.
- You didn't need to do that. - G.
[CALLEN GROANS]
How long was I out?
A few minutes. I've been kicking you the whole time.
CALLEN: On the side of the head?
Why aren't we dead?
They wanna find out if they're surrounded by 50 agents.
How long is that gonna take?
The time it takes to pack up, bust out of here,
and realize no one's shooting at them.
They do that before or after they kill us?
After. Definitely after.
You wanna explain yourself?
Explain myself? I saved your skinny ass.
Let's see. I had a gun and a hostage before you got here.
Now I'm chained up to a stove with a concussion.
That's a nice save.
Ten more seconds, you'd have a dozen new bullet holes in you.
- Now what? - I was hoping you had some ideas.
I'm thinking I want my gun and my hostage back.
Excuse me.
Sorry to pull you out.
How bad?
They have Callen and Sam.
Backup is en route.
And that's it?
The L.A. field office has done everything they can.
There's nothing more you can do here.
We should know more soon.
Choppers are 23 minutes out.
This is gonna be over in ten. They're packing up the missiles.
KENSI: We gotta buy them some time then.
- You got any ideas? - Drive another car into the camp?
Think that's gonna work again?
RENKO: Take a look at this.
How's your Morse code?
That was the last one.
Oh, this just keeps getting better.
Is it flickering? It feels like it's flickering.
That's because it's Morse code.
- Got it. - What?
A bobby pin.
I started wearing it in the '90s. Haven't used it since.
That's the most well-trained display of standard procedure I've seen from you.
Oh, no.
- What? - I dropped it.
- You dropped it? How could you? - It kind of sprung.
Oh, I got it. I'm good.
- Just keep reading the code. - Keep your head still.
It's still. Am I good?
Kensi says the choppers are 20 minutes out.
How do you know it was Kensi not Renko?
Kensi versus Renko?
Who remembers their Morse code?
Can you send it back?
Shh. Yeah, I can send it back.
It's called training and paying attention.
Thought you said I was well-prepared.
It must have been Stockholm syndrome.
[TALKING INDISTINCTLY]
Maskelyne?
- What the hell is Maskelyne? - Maskelyne? I don't know.
DOMINIC: Maybe it's a code word. - Incoming. It's Hetty.
- Hetty, it's all of us. Please don't yell. HETTY: I'm not yelling.
What don't I know?
Backup will be there in 18 minutes.
ERIC: Hetty, we don't think they can last that long.
Nate got a message from Kensi from Callen in Morse code
about something called Maskelyne.
Maskelyne. It's not a thing, it's a who.
He was a magician in World War ll.
He invented subterfuge.
He could make an entire squadron of tanks disappear.
He tricked the Nazis into believing
that a handful of men was an entire division.
- Smoke and mirrors. HETTY: Now listen.
These militia groups, they already believe they are being pursued
by the full force of the United States government.
- So we play to those fears. - Exactly.
I've jammed all the radio signals in the area.
They'll start futzing with the dials to find a frequency
and hopefully stumble upon us.
The idea is to make them think they're surrounded.
- One becomes ten. - Yeah.
HETTY: Mr. Secretary.
Henrietta. What can I do for you?
Desmond, I need a favor.
A small one.
- All teams in place. - Teams 1, 2, 3,
taking positions north, northwest and southwest.
ERIC [OVER RADIO]: Teams 4, 5, snipers in position.
NATE: Sniper 1, target identified. Sniper 2, target in sight.
DOMINIC: Roger, Sniper 3. Target identified.
Militia leader. Permission to engage?
- Malcolm, are you hearing this? - Yeah.
Kensi, go.
DOMINIC: We got shots fired. Shots fired.
CALLEN: You think we can make a run for it?
No.
Wanna try it anyways?
Drop it.
- Not gonna go through this again. - Nice face.
CALLEN: They're not very nice to you out there.
At least I'm not a complete liar.
Well, at least I'm not running around with a bunch of wannabe Rambos.
Now you ought to be with your friends playing "Guitar Hero"
or down at the beach picking up chicks.
Not camping out with a bunch of The Hills Have Eyes psychos.
What do you think the missiles are for? Self defense?
There comes a time when you gotta choose which side you're on.
[GUNFIRE AND YELLING OUTSIDE]
Malcolm.
There's 20 agents.
They're on the access road. They are coming for us.
You're sure about that, huh? You sure you didn't just imagine it?
They're coming. I swear. We need to get out of here.
Looks like they bought it.
- He's not gonna stop. CALLEN: No, no.
- He'll stop. - No, he's not.
You're right. He's not.
[CHATTERING]
- All right, Agent Callen. - I appreciate it.
I spoke with the special agent in charge
and he spoke with the U.S. attorney.
They said you could go home for now.
Do you have anywhere you can go?
Can I call my mom?
626-555-0110.
At least I know how to dial a cell phone.
At least I'm not going to jail.
At least I didn't accidentally join a militia.
At least I finally woke up and saved your behind.
Yeah.
At least you were on my side.
[SNIFFLES]
[LINE RINGING]
Hi, Mom.
WOMAN [OVER PHONE]: Oh, honey. Baby, where are you?
Where have you been?
F-22s, nice touch.
Whatever funding I procured today, we just blew on an air show.
Yeah, there goes my slush fund.
You knew.
- You knew that I would go-- - I had a suspicion.
You baited me.
You pulled me out of that hearing
and you baited me to go to the SECAF so you wouldn't have to.
I didn't think he'd do it for me.
And that way, I could spend my political capital
so that you wouldn't have to spend yours, Leon.
Sullivan was a good agent.
He would have become a great one.
Like Callen.
I'd never lost an agent before Sullivan.
But you saved two today.
You should feel good.
You know, that was really stupid, coming in to get me.
You're calling me stupid?
You wanted to Butch Cassidy me. You wanted to run for it.
It wasn't my best idea.
You wanted to Custer's Last Stand me.
You wanted to Alamo me.
You gonna put that in your little report?
With color-coded tabs?
Yeah.
Tabs marked "dumb-ass idea."
Nice job, Special Agent Hanna.
Ah. You said it. You feel good?
No. Cheapens the work.