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Previously on NCIS
- Someone was looking for Navy secrets.
- Well, they found them.
The wiring throughout the entire ship
could've flash fire-balled.
Our arsonist knew
the ship's wiring weakness.
Meet Bruce Johnson.
The fire department site inspector.
The guy who hired me said Plimpton
had information about some bum wiring.
Who hired you?
- Gibbs, I found this inside.
- Well, that's a list.
Of what?
Every Navy warship
that contains the faulty wiring.
Whoever hired our arsonist knows
how to attack U.
S.
warships.
- Blackmail?
- Terrorism.
NCIS Season 9 Episode 22
Playing with Fire 1.
0 AFG
Keller & Kujathemas.
Rereading: Bruno & Magic Turtle.
This is a real threat
to our Naval forces around the world
and requires extreme vigilance.
While NCIS is vigorously investigating
the fires, we must strengthen,
share our intelligence collection
across the board
to identify the persons, terrorist
group or nation behind the attacks.
You will be briefed as the investigation
continues.
Thank you.
We're clear, sir.
- I leave anything out, Agent Gibbs?
- No, I think you covered it, sir.
Thank God the casualties were
at a minimum.
Could've been a lot worse.
I don't think
this is the end of it, sir.
SecNav Jarvis and I are meeting
with the National Security Council
to brief the President
this afternoon.
- They'll have questions.
- I hope to have some answers for you.
When does Director Vance get
back from the NATO conference?
End of the week.
I'm in touch with him
a couple of times a day, sir.
I'm sure he'll be calling you.
Yeah, I'm leaving now.
Should take me about 15 minutes.
- How'd it go, Boss?
- It goes.
You get your hop?
Yeah.
Chopper from Anacostia's
taking me out to the Brewer.
Let me know
when you've secured the crime scene.
OK.
Also, the ship's turned
around and headed for Norfolk.
- When's it arrive?
- Tomorrow morning.
What more do we know
about Bruce Johnson?
Not much.
Parole officer was oblivious.
Johnson never missed an appointment.
You talk to your friends
at Baltimore?
Jason said
he hasn't popped up on the radar.
Wife was not much help.
She knew he was accused of arson,
but had no idea where he went every day.
- How she thinks he supported himself?
- For the last year, unemployment.
Went through his cell
phone records and e-mails.
Johnson hardly used them.
Only a few phone calls,
no e-mails in the last couple months.
He doesn't like
to communicate electronically.
Or he didn't want to be traced.
Anything on his computer?
Nothing of interest.
Abby went through it.
Johnson apparently liked
to play online video games.
So we have no leads on
who might have hired him?
Maybe Johnson isn't connected
to the attack on the Brewer.
Not buying it.
Ship was on the targeted
list found at his house.
- Want me to come back later?
- No.
Sorry.
Everything okay?
There is something personal I'd like
to talk to you about.
But it can wait.
I wish I could provide you
with a lead,
but poor Mr.
Johnson's body here
was so ravaged by fire
that he just isn't talking to me.
I know the circumstances,
I know time of death.
- I was there, I witnessed it.
- Twice in one week,
fires so intense they cremated bone
and incinerated flesh.
That's thermite.
I understand I have two more bodies
from the U.
S.
S.
Brewer?
Yeah.
You need to be in Norfolk
tomorrow morning to pick up the remains.
All right.
Abs, I'm on my way up.
Another fire.
Abs, you find something
in Johnson's car?
No.
It is toast.
But come here.
- What am I looking at?
- Confetti!
Just kidding.
So this cross-cut shredder was found
in Bruce Johnson's garage.
It slices documents,
horizontally and vertically,
into itsy-bitsy,
teeny-tiny little pieces.
I've identified at least four documents
and separated them.
- How'd you do that?
- By color and texture of the paper.
Like, this one's glossy,
that's high-end bond, this is recycled.
But come check this one out.
What do you see?
Looks like Chinese characters.
Close it's Korean.
Those symbols are
from the Korean Hangul alphabet.
It's a true alphabet
with 24 consonant and vowel letters.
But instead of being
written sequentially,
the letters are grouped
into blocks of two to five
Abs, can you
reconstruct the document?
I'm good, Gibbs,
but I'm not that good.
But this document was printed
on laser paper from a computer.
So Bruce Johnson was communicating
with someone in Korean.
I mean, do you think North Korea
could be behind the terrorist attacks?
You are bummed?
I am bummed.
I was really looking forward to it.
But I am sure we're going
to be on alert all weekend.
Can you get the deposit back?
Great.
Okay, I promise, we will reschedule.
Okay, talk to you soon.
Bye.
Canceling weekend plans, huh?
Yeah.
Who were you talking to?
- None of your business.
- Where were you gonna go?
You don't have the need to know,
Agent Di-Nosy.
How is everybody's favorite analyst?
Busy.
Things are hopping
on the Far East desk.
Whew, I can imagine.
Nothing I can find indicates North
Korean involvement in the attacks.
I spoke to analysts
at other agencies zilch.
- No chatter?
- Things are quiet in Pyongyang.
- Echelon?
- Hasn't picked up anything.
Right.
McGee's coming online,
MTAC, two minutes.
Keep me posted, Park.
DiNozzo, come on.
You're with me.
I am so envious about your weekend.
I had to cancel.
Am I the only one in the dark
What do we got?
Identities of the two killed.
Marine First Lieutenant Eric Ramsey,
a combat cargo officer.
And a civilian,
Tobey Abbott, he's a tech rep
for a company with Navy contracts.
Also a fireman apprentice received
minor burns while putting out the blaze.
What was the civilian
doing on the ship?
Works for Norton Turbine.
He was following up on some repairs
to the ship's power plant.
You okay, McGee?
We have to consider
Mr.
Abbott a suspect.
He was killed in the machine room,
which is the point of ignition.
It's his company's equipment
in the machine room?
Nowhere near it.
But I've secured
Abbott's quarters, I just
haven't had time
to go through it yet.
There she blows.
Seriously?
You're a Navy criminal investigator.
Give me a break, Tony, okay?
Three hours ago,
I was sitting at my desk,
I was choppered out into the middle
of the Atlantic in a raging storm,
landed on the pitching deck
of an LPD amid 20-foot seas,
and have spent the last hour in a
burnt-out machine room with acrid smoke
and diesel fuel.
Poor guy.
We'll be pier-side when the ship
arrives in Norfolk tomorrow morning.
Get back to his house,
talk to his wife again,
and see if you can't establish
a North Korean connection.
Right.
Feel better, McGee.
Apples and crackers.
I thought you got everything you needed.
You all but tore the house apart.
- Have another warrant?
- No, Mrs.
Johnson.
We just need to ask you
a couple of more questions.
Did your husband
read or speak Korean?
You're not serious.
He could barely express
himself in English.
Did he have a Korean friend,
a business connection, neighbor?
You're just not getting it.
God, either of you ever been divorced?
- We were in the middle of an ugly one.
- This is a very difficult time
"Difficult"?
All he left me were a bunch of bills
and a mortgaged house we can't sell.
Then the deadbeat blows himself up in
the driveway, now I'll never unload it.
I'm sorry to hear about your husband,
Mrs.
Johnson.
Yeah, thanks.
More bills.
We done?
I guess so, yeah.
She is one angry screw.
You know, a woman with a bad temper.
Shrew, Ziva.
Hold on a second.
Hey! Excuse me.
- Can I ask you a question?
- Sure.
Have you ever delivered any mail
to the Johnson house from Korea?
No.
I'd remember that.
- You sure?
- Yeah.
They have been receiving letters
from Switzerland lately.
Good-looking stamps.
Switzerland.
It's open, Duck.
Thanks for letting me drop by.
Yeah, you sounded
troubled on the phone.
Oh, really?
No, nothing serious.
Bringing work home?
Yeah,
hard copy of Lieutenant Ramsey's OQR.
Survived two tours
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He has a Purple Heart,
has a Bronze Star.
Gets killed by an American
terrorist on a U.
S.
ship.
It's tragic.
And senseless.
Want a cup of tea?
Jethro, this is tea dust.
I prefer tea leaves, steeped
in boiling water in a proper pot.
But thank you all the same.
What's on your mind?
Well, there have been a number
of changes in my life
the last few years, not the least
of which was Mother's passing.
Then selling her house,
moving into town.
I chose not to tell anyone this,
but
I've come into rather
a lot of money.
Far more than I will ever need.
I didn't say anything
to anyone because
I find that people tend to treat you
differently if they think you're rich.
Why are you telling me now?
Because I trust you,
and I'd like to ask a favor.
I'm redoing my will.
It's still being drafted,
and I have some decisions to make,
but
I'd like you to be
the executor of my estate.
Me, Ducky?
Are you sure about that?
Don't you want a lawyer?
No, I'd rather have a friend
that I can trust rather than someone
who hardly knows me.
Yeah, I'd be honored.
- You feeling any better?
- Oh, much better.
- The ship's stopped rocking.
- Where are my bodies?
Haven't moved them.
This is Lieutenant Ramsey.
The civilian's remains are
in the machine room, just aft.
You find anything
in the civilian's quarters?
I haven't gotten to it yet.
Spent the night in sick bay.
Didn't want to contaminate
the scene.
Take Tony and Ziva with you,
will you?
Where are they?
I'll be with Ducky
and the arson specialists.
Got a little present for you.
- What?
- Barf bags.
Has Abby finalized plans
for Palmer's bachelor party?
Don't know.
She hasn't talked.
She's keeping
everything under wraps.
I wouldn't worry, though.
Abby would not disappoint us.
What is this American thing
grown men acting like fraternity boys?
I do not understand.
What's not to understand?
You got your ***, your strippers.
Total debauchery.
Abby would never plan
something like that.
Clotrimazole.
- Poor Abbott has jock itch.
- Not anymore.
Ziva, the weekend's coming up,
and we're on alert.
Doesn't that blow your plans for
Seriously?
I mean, does everybody but me
know your plans for this weekend?
Look at this.
- It's got a Swiss stamp.
- What does that mean?
This connects the attacks.
- It's gibberish.
- What do you mean?
It's a meaningless
collection of Korean script.
These are all symbols
from the Hangul alphabet.
However, their arrangement
forms no words or sentences.
Could it be a dialect
or regional language?
I showed it to a professor of Korean
language at Georgetown.
He assured me it made
absolutely no sense.
- It's a code.
- I thought the same thing.
I sent a copy to our cryptographers.
Haven't heard anything.
I'll contact them as soon
as we finish here.
I've talked to State and the CIA.
Their North Korean experts
gave no indication
of that country's
involvement in the attacks.
Actually, under their new leadership,
they've been playing nice.
For the moment.
So, if it's not North Korea,
who are we dealing with?
What do we know about Abbott?
Tobey "No Middle Name" Abbott, 29.
Single, born in Norwalk,
Connecticut.
No police or military record.
Attended Rensselaer Polytechnical
Institute in Troy, New York.
Nothing distinguishing.
Had three jobs before joining Norton
Turbine as a mechanic a year ago.
- That's it?
- That's it.
Not so fast, Ms.
David.
I just got off the phone
with Abbott's high school advisor.
Had his heart set on going
to the Naval Academy, but got rejected.
He wanted it so bad,
he spent the year after high school
attending a service academy prep school.
- And he got rejected again.
- You got it.
Think he holds a grudge?
Talk to Abbott's supervisor
at Norton Turbine.
Ducky dropped that off
a little while ago.
Why would he give you tea leaves?
- Tony can be so transparent.
- You think?
He came down here asking me about
thermite, but, really, he was fishing.
He was trying to find out
what Ziva had planned for the weekend.
- You didn't tell him, did you?
- Of course not.
It's driving him crazy.
Yeah, but it's just Pilates weekend
with her landlady.
Yeah, but that's not what Tony's
dirty little mind is thinking.
We getting anywhere?
The arson inspectors sent me
residue of the accelerant used
on the fire aboard the Brewer.
Major Mass Spec is back on his game.
He just I.
D.
'd the residue
as the exact same
mixture of thermite
and fire retardant
that Detective King
and I identified in the other fires.
Same signature,
it's a different arsonist.
Why didn't it
do more damage to the ship?
Have a theory, Boss.
Let me show you.
On the deck directly below
the machine room is the magazine locker,
and it contains thousands
of pounds worth of explosives.
There's no way that Abbott
could have gained access to that area.
His plan was to ignite
the slow-burning,
intensely hot thermite fire
in the area just above.
When it burned through the deck
and hit the magazine below, the ship,
would have been severely damaged,
- maybe even sunk.
- Why didn't that happen?
This is a file photo
of the machine room.
And here is the point of ignition.
Now, what Abbott didn't realize was,
these three tanks contained
highly flammable material.
Before the fire could burn below
as intended,
the tanks ignited
and caused the explosion
that killed him
and Lieutenant Ramsey.
Did you see the John Wayne movie,
Hellfighters?
The Duke played Red Adair,
the oil well firefighter.
What happened on the ship
is exactly what happened
when Red used the dynamite.
The explosion created a vacuum,
and it sucked out all the oxygen
and extinguished the fire.
Lucky.
We getting anywhere
decoding the Korean document?
No, but it did come
from the same printer
and it's the same paper
as the shredded document
that we found at Bruce Johnson's.
Dusted it
and the envelope for prints.
Only got Abbott's.
We also found DNA on the flap
of the envelope where someone licked it.
Who? You got a name?
I ran it through active military
and known felons and Interpol.
Nothing yet, but I'll keep trying.
You're welcome.
I was the one who interviewed and hired
Tobey Abbott little over a year ago.
What exactly was he doing
for your company aboard the USS Brewer?
We did some repairs
to the ship's power plant.
It's customary to send
a mechanic to make sure
everything's working properly
under operating conditions.
Do you know what caused
the explosion?
Still under investigation.
- Why did you select Abbott to go?
- He was a good mechanic.
Not our best, more than adequate.
To be honest,
he lobbied for the assignment.
- Really?
- Careful.
I usually have to beg my guys
to go out to sea on Navy contracts.
They're not pleasure cruises.
You can be stuck on the ship for weeks
waiting until it reaches a port.
Did Abbott say why he wanted to go?
My guess
unlike most of the others,
he was single.
Wasn't leaving a family.
Plus there's a small pay incentive.
You know who he hung with?
Anyone at work?
Tobey could be moody.
- Pretty much kept to himself.
- If you think of anything else,
- would you give me call?
- Sure.
Did Tobey Abbott speak Korean?
Don't know,
but I seriously doubt it.
Thanks.
I found traces of a substance under
Mr.
Abbott's fingernails
that Abby identifies
as the same combination
of thermite and fire retardant
that's coated Bruce Johnson's body.
One more thing connecting the fires.
The cause of Lieutenant Ramsey's death
was blunt force trauma.
He would have survived his burns,
but with the force of the explosion,
he fractured his skull
on a bulkhead.
I found this,
in one of his pockets.
Wife's a kid herself, Duck.
I got to go.
You have beautiful children.
I can't believe
you're still with Gibbs.
- Has he mellowed with age?
- What do you think?
Last time I spoke with him
was right after Mike Franks died.
He didn't want to talk about it.
He keeps a lot inside.
What's he building
in his basement now?
Don't know.
Haven't been down there in a while.
Down where, DiNozzo?
Hi-ya, Boss.
Special Agent Burley.
- You got something for us?
- Yeah.
Where are you?
Naples, Italy.
I came here to perform
a port-threat assessment
prior to the arrival of the aircraft
carrier, the Benjamin Franklin.
It's due in tomorrow.
And then I got the alert.
The Benjamin Franklin's
on the list of marked vessels.
Find something?
I was conducting a search
of the warehouse that serves as
a collection point
for goods and equipment
that are going to resupply the ship.
Found an explosive device
hidden on a palette.
- What kind of device?
- Thermite,
with a magnesium fuse.
Just like described in the alert.
A nuclear aircraft carrier.
They're upping the stakes.
Andiamo, bambina!
- Dove?
- Gear up.
We're leaving for Naples.
Naples, Italy?
Si.
I'm going home to grab some clothes.
You should do the same.
We're hopping a military flight
from Andrews Air Force Base.
- This one of your practical jokes?
- Nope.
Gibbs' orders.
It's a good thing you canceled
your Pilates weekend.
- Who told you?
- I'm a very special agent,
I have my ways.
Come on.
Wake up.
Get up.
I've got coffee.
I've got Danish.
What do you got?
You're not mad at us
for waking you up?
Depends what you found.
Boss, we broke the code
on the Korean message.
It took us a long time because,
we and the cryptologists thought
that it was gonna be really complicated,
but it wasn't.
It was actually easy.
Using a Korean-Hangul
word processing program,
the person who sent the message,
typed the words
into an English-alphabet keyboard.
But it was printed out
in Hangul script.
I'll show you the first line
of the document.
"Place the thermite
device on the 0-3 deck.
"
Those characters don't form
Korean words, Gibbs.
So it would be meaningless
to anyone that was reading Korean.
Reversing the process,
decodes the message.
Uncoded,
the rest of it instructed Abbott when,
where, how to attack the U.
S.
S.
Brewer.
Don't suppose he was
dumb enough to sign it?
Any luck with the DNA
on the envelope?
Unfortunately, no.
Good to see you again, DiNozzo.
Hey, how are you?
Special Agent Ziva David.
Agent Burley.
It's a pleasure.
Stan, please.
Welcome to Napoli, the home
of Mount Vesuvius, pizza and romance.
I got it, Tony.
Heard a lot about you.
- From who?
- Abby.
All good.
She never says anything bad
about anyone.
I love that woman.
- When'd you get here?
- Last week.
I was enjoying the weather and cuisine
until we were put on alert.
The Benjamin Franklin has arrived.
Yeah, it dropped anchor
about an hour ago.
You're the senior field
agent in charge.
What's the game plan?
The palette's still
in the warehouse.
Thermite's been replaced
with an inert, look-alike substance.
It'll be barged out to the ship in
a couple hours and put in the cargo bay.
The three of us will board the ship,
undercover,
as Navy personnel joining
the deployment.
Let me help you with that.
We've got a water taxi,
it's gonna take us out to the ship.
We're going to stake out
the cargo bay
and wait to see
who comes for the thermite.
And there's over 5000 onboard, we're
looking for a needle in a haystack.
Fire on the Brewer
was started by a civilian.
A tech rep.
I read the bulletin
from headquarters.
I checked, there are 32 civilians
on the Benjamin Franklin right now.
The problem is, if we question them,
we'll spook whoever it is
before they go for the bait.
After you, Ziva.
Stay classy, Stan.
Andiamo.
- Morning, Jethro.
- Morning, Duck.
- Something happen?
- No, false alarm.
Aboard a missile frigate off
the coast of Diego Garcia.
I just released Ramsey's body
for burial at Arlington.
A fully executed copy of my will.
Besides a couple of bequeaths
to a nephew in Scotland
and my good friends at NCIS, I'm leaving
the bulk of my estate to charity.
- That's nice.
- I was really struck by that photograph
of the young lieutenant
with his wife and children.
I was, too.
I sent her a note last night.
I was struggling with the decision as to
where the money would do the most good
there are so many worthy charities.
I had been considering
the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation.
They do so much good
for Marine Corps families.
They give them the means
to send their kids to college.
Seeing Lieutenant Ramsey's
young children
just made the decision for me.
Yeah, that's nice.
Real nice, Duck.
Got a bogey.
About time.
Getting warmer.
Standing in front of the hatch.
- Afraid you weren't gonna show.
- You kidding?
Been thinking about you all day.
Did you miss me?
Let's go.
False alarm.
Two young ***
anxious to parallel park.
Busting them is not our problem
at the moment.
Where's David with the food?
I don't know.
She probably got lost.
What took you so long?
Do you know they have nine different
places to get food on this ship?
- I hope you got something good.
- Why are you so grumpy?
You should be happy,
Petty Officer DiNozzo.
- I got it at the officer's mess.
- Of course you did.
Because Burley made you an officer
and me enlisted.
That's why you're so grumpy.
Now what's wrong with you?
It's just, my stomach's been
a little queasy.
Seasick?
- We're still at the harbor.
- If you tell McGee,
I'm gonna post those bikini photos
that I have on the agency Web site.
I told you to destroy them.
Well, a man's got to have leverage.
I got to hit the head.
Game's on, Stan.
Okay, he's going for the bait.
Burley?
NCIS! Stay back!
Okay, this is the only way in or out.
All the other hatches are secure.
Still breathing.
Weapon's gone.
Corpsman's on the way.
How's Burley?
See for yourself.
Navy docs are great.
I'll be okay.
A couple weeks R and R will help.
What's the condition of the suspect?
His name is Andr� Fullerton.
He's a tech rep,
employed by an avionics
communications firm.
Who put you up to this, Fullerton?
Put me up to what?
Sabotaging a U.
S.
Navy ship.
You stabbed a federal agent.
Shouldn't someone be
reading me my rights?
You have no rights.
You're a terrorist on a U.
S.
Navy ship.
And we're invoking the Patriot Act.
In an hour, you're going to be
flown off this ship,
escorted by Agent David and myself,
to Aviano Air Base,
where you're going to board a C-37A
and you're going to be flown
to Guant�namo Bay, Cuba.
Once there, you're going
to be staying at
a sunny little seaside resort
the locals call Gitmo.
Heard a nasty rumor
about what goes on down there.
You'll never be heard from again.
Your friends, your family,
they won't know
what happened to you.
So I'm going to ask you again.
Who hired you?
- You're bluffing.
- Agent Gibbs does not bluff.
- Can we make some kind of deal?
- You're in no position to negotiate.
For the last time,
who's behind the terrorist attacks?
You yank him out of that rack,
and you put him on a plane.
Hold it! I'll tell you.
His name's
Harper Dearing.
- Tell us about him.
- I don't know anything.
Your memory will improve
once you get to Gitmo.
I never saw him.
I spoke to him on the phone.
He explained, after that,
he'd only communicate in Korean code.
That's it?
Not good enough.
Enjoy Cuba.
He had what,
Northerners would call
a slight Southern drawl.
I know.
I'm from Mississippi.
That's all I know.
Why did you do it?
Money.
Lots of money.
Put him on suicide watch.
I want to make sure
he gets back here for trial.
You got it.
I've found seven Harper Dearings
in the United States.
Four of them either currently
reside or were born in the South.
Let's hear it.
Harper Dearing, 48-year-old housewife,
Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Harper Dearing number two.
He's currently 84,
residing in a nursing home
for retired clergy.
Next.
Harper Dearing number three.
Second grader in a Little Rock,
Arkansas elementary school.
Harper Dearing number four.
born in Augusta, Georgia.
Currently resides in Virginia.
Let me hear it.
He's the CEO
of Dorado Hills Investments,
a multinational venture
capital group
that specializes
in technology companies.
It's HQ in Sterling, Virginia.
- Criminal or military record?
- Neither.
Why would a corporate executive
be terrorizing U.
S.
Navy vessels?
- Doesn't make sense.
- Get his name down to Abby.
She's got a DNA sample
from the envelope.
- See if she can match it up to him.
- And if she can't
maybe he's got a close relative
whose DNA is on file.
What are you doing?
Cleaning my weapon
and waiting for you to get in.
- How's Burley?
- He's fine.
McGee said Dearing had a son that was
in the Navy.
Did you get a DNA match?
I've had people working in the lab
all night.
Let me check my e-mail.
I'm having them compare
the DNA from the envelope
that was found in Abbott's quarters
to the DNA of Dearing's son, Evan.
Okay, it's here.
They found a familial match.
There is 99.
9% probability
that Harper Dearing is your guy.
- What's going on?
- Where's Dearing's office?
Second floor.
NCIS.
No, no, I'll call you back.
May I help you?
- Who are you?
- Vincent Maple.
- I'm the president of this company.
- Where is Dearing?
I have no idea.
- Why are you looking for him?
- We have a warrant for his arrest.
He's wanted for terrorism
and four counts of ***.
Where is he?
I don't know.
I haven't seen or heard
from him in over a year.
How do you get in touch with him?
I don't.
Listen up.
For attacks against
the United States Navy.
Harper Dearing.
Let's go.
We got work to do.