Must be our guy.
What do you think he wants?
What, he can't just be a good Samaritan?
Tip about a possible missing NSA agent
out of the goodness of his heart?
(chuckles) Maybe in Kansas.
Never want to meet at a Starbucks, do they?
No, they don't.
NCIS.
You have some information for us?
It's a set-up.
(high-pitched tone)
(groans)
(grunting)
♪ ♪
♪ NCIS: LA 6x15 ♪ Forest for the Trees Original Air Date on February 9, 2015
== sync, corrected by elderman == @elder_man
♪ ♪
Oh, my God.
This is so good.
Uh, what's the name of the food truck
that you're having this religious experience with?
Wholesome Food for Life On Wheels.
And I-I got to be completely honest with you.
I feel like eating clean has changed my life.
You know what I mean?
I'm healthier, I feel better, I got more energy,
my focus is stronger--
it's-it's like a... it's like a miracle.
It's a joke is what it is.
And there it is on cue.
Negative Nelly makes an appearance. Thanks for that.
Negative Nelly?
I just... I don't understand why you do that.
Do what?
Every time I find something I'm excited about,
that I'm passionate about, that's good for me,
you just got to go, and you got to tear it down.
No, I'm just saying that because...
And this place is the healthiest.
It's-it's fresh, and it's certified organic,
and it's sustainably-farmed, and it's...
Frozen.
I'm sorry. What did you say?
It's frozen.
I saw them load the truck at Smart and Final.
No way. Way.
Kensi Blye guarantee.
Damn it!
Those con men.
Those conniving, lying...
I paid $18 for this.
I'm not sure I'd be throwing stones, Mr. Glass Greenhouse.
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
That home-cooked Italian meal
you made me last week?
Remember that? You know, the one
you made sure I knew
you meticulously sourced and prepped for hours?
That's because I meticulously sourced it
and prepped it for hours.
Dude, you're a detective.
If you're gonna lie to me,
at least hide the evidence better.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Mamma Guido's Fast Food wrappers in the trash?
Ha! You dug through my trash.
I was throwing away gum.
You invaded my personal space.
You-you betrayed my trust.
You probably planted it there. How dare you!
Admit nothing, deny everything and make counter-accusations.
Nice try. We went to the same interrogation classes.
Gonna cost me, isn't it?
Mm-hmm, and you'll never see it coming.
(clears her throat)
Seems like our fellow agents decided to sleep in today.
Oh, what time is it?
About an hour after they should have been here.
Wow. I'll call Callen.
I'll call Sam.
Gone straight to voice mail.
Sam's, too.
Let's check with Eric and Nell.
I don't have to stress that Abaq could be
the most important cooperating witness that we've encountered.
Given that we weren't aware of an ISIS cell in Los Angeles
until two weeks ago,
your stressing the point is indeed redundant,
Owen.
Do you have any further information on this witness?
All we know about Joseph Abaq is
he's second-generation Syrian-American.
Born here, no record.
Held minimum-wage jobs since high school.
So, nothing out of the ordinary?
Not until he started communicating with Omar Hubarak,
the suspected head of the cell.
He's been a key player
in various Middle East Jihadist movements
for the last 15 years.
They think he entered the country about six months ago.
Web chatter alluded to his forming a cell.
Just didn't know where until
a traffic cam caught him on PCH.
With Mr. Abaq.
Is the team prepped?
Mr. Callen and Mr. Hanna will be backup when you meet with Abaq
this afternoon.
What about Kensi and Deeks?
Ms. Blye as a waitress, Mr. Deeks in the kitchen.
Deeks is cooking?
Well, it's a Mexican restaurant, Owen.
It's not, uh, the French Laundry.
Besides, I don't think you give Mr. Deeks enough credit.
His Swedish nachos
were the hit of the holiday party.
I didn't get my invitation.
(footsteps approaching)
I take it this isn't good.
Callen and and Sam haven't shown up for work yet.
DEEKS: Their, uh, cells are going straight to voicemail,
and they're not responding to texts.
They were following up on a tip
about a possible missing NSA analyst.
Worst of all, their GPS trackers
have been shut off.
(squeaking)
(groans quietly)
(groans)
(grunts softly)
You okay?
It depends on your definition of "okay."
(groans, sighs)
(groans)
Where are we?
CALLEN: Looks like a machinery room or something.
(groans)
A flashbang, some smoke grenade.
And tranquilizer darts to knock us out.
(banging)
Solid steel.
(grunts quietly)
Looks like they welded metal plates over the windows.
Whoever put us in here went through a lot of trouble
to make sure we didn't get out.
(fan whirring)
Fresh air.
At least they're trying to keep us alive.
Until they start pumping something else in here.
KENSI:When was the last time anyone spoke with them?
ERIC: Well,
we were the last ones to leave yesterday.
Yeah.
Um, Sam said he was headed home
to watch a documentary about Buzkashi,
the national sport of Afghanistan.
At which point Callen made a snarky comment
about knowing what to get him for his birthday.
So, nothing unusual.
No, nothing, uh, revelatory about the conversation.
I mean, about the situation, that is.
For me, myself, I was amazed to learn
that Buzkashi is actually almost exactly like polo,
except for, instead of a ball,
the players drag
the decapitated corpse of a goat across the goal line to score.
(clears throat) ERIC: I mean, I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to make light of the situation-- it's just,
I'm a little worried.
So, what do we know about the NSA tip
that they were following up on?
Well, it's pretty vague.
We received an anonymous phone call
early this morning regarding the possible
disappearance of an analyst.
ERIC: They were supposed to meet
the anonymous tipster here
at a dirt road off Bouquet Canyon in Santa Clarita.
NELL: Which is where the last readable GPS signal puts them.
Where did the anonymous phone call come from?
A burn phone.
Yeah, I'm guessing we don't have
a lot of video support out there in Hooterville, either.
Nearest security or traffic cams are at least three miles out.
Mr. Deeks, Ms. Blye, I think you know your brief.
Yeah. Yeah.
(sighs)
You think there really was a missing NSA analyst,
or it was just a lure?
I have no idea.
You piss anyone off recently?
(chuckles) Just Michelle.
Oh, yeah? What was it this time--
the garbage or the dishes?
It doesn't matter.
I don't think she's the one who kidnapped us.
I don't know about that, Sam.
You said yourself, she's been known overreact once in a while.
You finished being ridiculous?
I could be.
Take a look at this.
Access panel.
Nice flat heads, look new.
Yeah.
We need something metal with a flat edge,
to use as a screwdriver.
CALLEN: Tool bag.
(grunting with effort)
It's a good thing one of us isn't into pumping iron.
(grunting)
It's a good thing one of us
is into pumping iron.
Got it?
(grunts) Now I do.
Here.
Give me that...
(grunts)
Looks like a tunnel of some sort.
Tunnel?
Yeah.
(grunts)
It was probably used to transport material in
from the outside.
You all right?
Let's just keep moving.
This kind of reminds me of that Steve McQueen movie,
The Great Escape.
Is that your idea of making me feel better?
I'm just saying, in the end, they all m...
they all made it to freedom.
Not before Charles Bronson had a panic attack
when the tunnel caved in.
Let's forget that part.
Let's just change the subject. All right.
Why don't you tell me what you want for your birthday, huh?
To get the hell out of this tunnel. All right. We can do that.
How 'bout we just not talk. At all.
We can do that, too. Okay. (sighs)
(grunts)
Piece of wood.
Looks like that's just wedged in there.
(groans)
Looks like it's screwed into the wall from the inside.
So that's good.
Yeah. Give me the screwdriver.
Come on.
You didn't bring the screwdriver. How was I supposed to know
we were gonna need the screwdriver again?
It's called thinking ahead. That's what we do.
You could've brought the screwdriver.
You had it last.
Would you like to go get the screwdriver?
No. Would you like me to get it?
Yes.
Are you irritated? A little.
But mostly I want you to just get the damn screwdriver.
I'm gonna get the screwdriver.
(car doors shut)
Clear.
Yeah.
Fresh tire tracks.
Looks like the only ones around.
They look big.
Maybe a pickup truck, SUV...
There's no signs of a struggle.
Car wasn't tossed.
It's also a big wide open space.
No chance for surprises.
So maybe we're talking about numbers.
I'll keep looking. Yeah.
NELL: Hey, Kens.
Hey, Nell, I just sent you a photo of tire tracks.
See if you can narrow down the make and model.
On it.
Thank you. Kensilina.
Yes.
I got some good news and some bad news.
Smoke grenade.
Let's keep searching.
(sighs)
Hey.
What's that?
I got a tranquilizer dart.
And a flashbang fuse.
(grunts)
All right.
Flashbang, smoke, ketamine.
That's how they took 'em out.
So they just wanted 'em incapacitated.
"Just"?
It's better than finding bloodstains.
There was evidence of a flashbang
and a ketamine dart
at Sam and Callen's last location.
Any chance someone saw something? The area
is isolated.
Which I'm sure is why it was chosen
as the meeting point.
It's also one hell of a coincidence
on the day of a crucial op
with our first ISIS informant, you know?
I agree. The timing raises at least a yellow flag.
I've reached out to NSA regarding their missing analyst.
See if they've heard any chatter on the Jihadist Web sites
about Hubarak or Abaq.
Ahead of you, Owen.
You always are, Henrietta.
Listen, I'm as concerned about them as you are.
But this meeting with Abaq must go on as planned.
Understood.
(grunts) And we're out.
What'd I tell you?
Just like The Great Escape.
Did you even watch that movie?
Half of the guys got shot after they got out of the tunnel.
Well, the other half made it.
Guess I'm a bright-side kind of guy.
Don't see any security cams.
There weren't any inside either.
Where are we?
It's the wrong topography to be...
Angeles Crest or La Cañada.
Definitely not Central Los Angeles.
There'd be houses on those hills. Deep
in Topanga? Malibu, maybe?
Santa Clarita Valley?
So who the hell's behind this, huh?
What do they want?
Could be as simple as payback from someone we busted.
It feels bigger than that.
The way they took us out.
Well planned, well executed.
That room they kept us in.
Spent a lot of time and money.
And then there's this.
What is that, eight feet high?
No barbed wire.
It's almost too easy.
Because it is.
Plan B?
MAN: Stop!
One more step and you're a dead man.
KENSI:Your leg is brushing up against a fishing line.
You see it?
It's a trip wire.
SAM: He's right, G. Don't move.
Not moving.
I saw one like it back there.
It's attached to a spring-loaded device that releases a board
embedded with nails in it, striking chest high.
Into the heart.
Okay.
Here's what we're gonna do.
I'm all ears.
On the count of three,
you're gonna drop to the ground as fast as you can.
I can do fast.
You ready?
One, two...
Thanks.
Who are you?
Martin Samir, NSA. Whoa!
Don't move.
Who are you guys?
Agents Hanna and Callen, NCIS.
It's a hell of a way to say hello.
Insurgent analyst for ten years. You know what to look for.
Thank you.
No problem.
We got a tip this morning
about a missing NSA analyst.
Guess that's me.
It was a setup to kidnap us.
They grabbed me near the office this morning.
Went out for a Starbucks.
Any surveillance? Traffic cams? Anything?
I doubt it. It was a side street.
They must have been tailing me.
When you left NSA,
where'd you exit the garage from?
The main exit on Wilshire,
drove towards Western.
Traffic cams on Wilshire probably picked 'em up.
What's with the cuffs?
I-I woke up out here, cuffed to a metal pipe.
Took a while, but I managed to get free.
You guys?
Locked room. Found a way out.
They probably didn't want us talking to each other.
You have any idea who "they" are?
I heard a little chatter before I passed out.
Pretty sure it's ISIS.
Omar Hubarak?
And Joseph Abaq.
What do you people know about Abaq?
We've been trying to track him for the past few months.
As far as we can tell, he's an associate
of the cell that Hubarak leads, here in L.A.
There's rumors he's a traitor, feeding Intel to the Feds.
SAM: Rumors?
Unsubstantiated.
We don't believe it.
We think Hubarak has something big planned,
to make a statement, and it involves Abaq.
But we're not sure what it is.
Another fine mess, G.
Let's see if we can find a break in the fence somewhere.
NELL (sighs): Well... the tires are a no-brainer.
They're on several Ford trucks
from 1990 to 2006.
And how many trucks is that total?
Oh, just a few thousand
in the L.A. area alone. Great.
ERIC: On the better news side,
your flashbang and smoke grenade
were part of a cache of weapons and equipment
from a National Guard
transport truck hijacked last month.
That's a bold move. It's a big payoff.
ERIC: LAPD has two suspects from Armenian Power in custody.
ATF narrowed the list of potential buyers.
Uh, number one candidate is a low-level arms dealer,
one Oscar Willits.
Okay, so Willits is the middleman.
He's legitimately incorporated as Oscar Willits Limited,
a business management consulting firm.
Oh, you're kidding me-- that's his cover?
Yep.
And that's his office.
DEEKS: Wow. That's the very definition
of "limited."
And it's in Santa Clarita, three miles from where
Callen and Sam were taken.
DEEKS: So who's his clients,
rattlesnakes and the whole cast of Honey Boo Boo?
NSA has just confirmed they have a missing analyst.
Martin Samir.
Ms. Blye, Mr. Deeks,
I suggest you go and get some management advice,
ASAP.
(groans) Never hurts.
Abaq is meeting with our assistant director at 3:00.
Lucy's El Adobe.
It's got to be a setup.
Killing him would make for a public relations coup.
We need to find a way to get in touch with Granger.
(knocking)
It's locked.
Over there.
Well, no way he doesn't see us coming.
Mm.
I just got my car washed.
Now I'm gonna have to barrel it across a dirt road and...
This is your clever way of saying that I'll be the one heading him off on foot?
I think Mama Guido said it best.
Huh. Touché. (laughs)
Hey, Mr. Willits. What do you want?
I just came to get some advice about my business.
You'll have to make an appointment.
Make an appointment? I just drove all the way out here.
We can't talk now? It's not gonna take that long.
Go away.
Here's the deal-- I do import-export, mostly okra,
but I'm trying to get into more high-end vegetables,
like kumquats and fiddleheads.
DEEKS: Don't... Federal agents!
Freeze!
No, n-not in the water.
That looks incredibly cold.
(grunts)
Aah! Oh, God, that's cold!
What are you doing?
Where are you going?
What-what is your plan here,
that I'm gonna slip and knock myself unconscious?
Kensi, shoot him.
Willits!
(grunts)
Get up.
Done? KENSI: Federal agents.
Stop struggling, Willits.
(grunting)
It's over, man.
Just for the record...
you licked that Mama Guido plate clean.
We'll give you our full cooperation
so we can work together and find our people.
HETTY: Thank you.
You find anything?
Mr. Samir never showed up for work this morning.
An NSA team swept his apartment
and found signs of a struggle.
(sighs) So what's our next move?
That was gonna be my question to you.
If you guys don't mind, uh, nature calls.
KENSI:♪ ♪
SAM: Samir!
Yeah. I'm a little preoccupied here.
Talked it over with my partner.
We think the best plan
is to break back into the building,
find ourselves a way to cut the power to the fence.
All right.
Ready to roll?
I'm coming, I'm coming.
I already told you,
I'm a business management consultant.
Hmm. Well, putting aside the fact
you're operating your business out in Green Acres,
not a lot of consultants run away from potential clients.
Especially through a lake.
I'm always wary of strangers.
It's one of the many pearls or wisdom
I like to pass on to the people I do business with.
Oh, especially the ones that you sell stolen explosives and weapons to.
That's not true.
Isn't it?
Look, I know I don't look like your everyday consultant.
That's what makes me unique. DEEKS: No, no, what makes you unique,
Oscar, is the, uh, dozen AR-15s, 5,000 rounds of ammo,
and another dozen stolen flashbang grenades
that were found in a shed next to your corporate headquarters.
Not a lot of that happening at AIG.
Explosives that were used in the abduction of two Federal agents.
I have no idea how those got there.
DEEKS: Hm. You know what, despite the fact that
our partners could be in serious trouble because of you,
it is... it is a new year.
Know what I mean? And I am a...
firm believer that everyone deserves a fresh start.
He gets like this sometimes.
DEEKS: I have an inkling
just to let you go.
Know what I mean?
Just avoid that pesky 30 years in prison.
You do?
Yeah. Drop you off at the corner of Florence and Inglewood...
while a major drug bust is going down, pat you on the back
and say, "Thanks for all your help." That should be enough
to get the attention of the local Neighborhood Watch,
don't you think?
Well, we can't forget the $200 informant fee
Right. that we would count out slowly
in front of the MS-13 youth league.
That's if you're a fan
of fresh starts.
Are you, Oscar?
But if not, you should probably
go ahead and drop one of those little, uh...
pearls of wisdom on us and let us know who it is
you sold those stolen flashbang grenades to.
That would work, too.
Check out the windows on the front half of the building.
It doesn't look like they're covered with anything.
Must be a separate room.
That's probably where our guys set up shop.
They could still be in there.
If they are, they're gonna be armed.
You up for this?
I may be an analyst, but I can handle myself.
We use that smaller building as cover.
Make it harder for them to see us coming.
We get closer, we'll decide the best way in.
We'll take the lead on this.
You stick close.
Got it.
Anything?
I think we found the truck that matches the description
that Oscar Willits gave you.
Dually crew cab, wood rack, brush guard,
white paint scrapes on the right front fender.
Zoom in on the cab.
Yeah.
Can you get closer to the passenger? Mm-hmm.
Can you clean that up?
Sure.
There it is.
Tranq gun. DEEKS: When and where?
Half an hour before Callen and Sam
were supposed to meet their tip guy,
five miles from the meeting spot. We already called it in
to the Highway Patrol. Now we're going through
traffic-cam footage to see if we can
find a more recent hit.
(beeping)
Oh. Got it.
This is 45 minutes ago, off Old Topanga. DEEKS: Nice.
Perfect. Let's go.
Where are you going? Eric got a hit
on the kidnappers' truck. We have an op
in 45 minutes. Yeah, what we have
is Callen and Sam in trouble.
I'll assign another team to the truck lead.
Another tea... No, with all due respect, sir...
Listen to me.
This has nothing to do with respect.
I know what you're feeling about Callen and Sam.
Whether you want to believe it or not, I feel the same way.
But this is a chance
to take down the only known
ISIS cell in the country,
and you're prepped for the op.
I need you.
♪ ♪
We need to break it fast and get in.
I told you, we'll take point on this.
(grunts)
He's been in there too long.
All clear.
We've got to find those phones.
Circuit breaker.
That should cut the power to the fence.
(man groans in distance)
Find the phones.
(man groans in distance)
Who are you?
(gasping)
Martin Samir, NSA.
KENSI:♪ ♪
(clears throat)
Everything okay?
Your cook sucks.
Noted.
(bell dings) Oh, chef.
Oh, waitress.
Good thing there's only three other customers in here.
Mm.
Apparently with very low standards.
You know what I'm going to do?
I'm going make you some homemade alphabet soup
so you can eat your words when you taste my real cooking.
Good to see you, Mr. Abaq.
Drop it.
(gunfire continues)
FAKE SAMIR: You're too late!
You gave me the meeting place!
I sent word to my people!
Soon your assistant director
and the traitor Abaq will be dead!
ABAQ: Thank you.
(beeps)
Shall we get started?
You're sure we're safe here?
I assure you, you're in no danger.
The cell has ten core members
plus associates.
(tires screeching) Almost all Syrian and Iraqi.
Most were born here.
(gun clicking)
(guns clicking)
Get back!
Afraid I got some bad news for you.
We knew you weren't real ten minutes after we met you.
Location I gave you for the Abaq meeting was wrong.
I informed NCIS.
Your buddies from ISIS
are about to get surrounded by an army of Feds.
(tires screeching) Federal agents! Drop your weapons!
(grunts)
(gunfire)
(grunts)
I said halt! Clear!
All clear!
Well, that's
six less ISIS cell members we have to worry about.
I just hope that
Mr. Callen and Mr. Hanna have a plan
to save themselves.
He's running!
Here.
There he is.
CALLEN: We're not going to catch him.
We don't have to.
(screams)
(camera clicks)
ERIC: His name is Jamal Nezi.
An active jihadist for al-Qaeda
until their organization started to unravel.
When ISIS reinvigorated the jihadist movement,
it provided a new opportunity for Nezi.
According to intelligence reports, the ISIS cell in L.A.
suspected Abaq of talking to NCIS.
But Mr. Abaq was in the proverbial wind by that point.
Okay, so they hatched up a plan.
They kidnap Callen and Sam and...
make them think an NSA agent is a fellow captive?
Hoping that they'll give up Intel freely on Abaq.
But they didn't count on Sam's knowledge of the NSA building.
KENSI: Yes!
SAM: Yeah.
It's good to have you two back.
Oh, it is good to be back.
Ooh, speaking of which, I have a... I have a surprise.
KENSI: Um...
so what tipped you off? SAM: Ah.
A couple of weeks ago, I was at the NSA.
They're doing construction on the garage.
The Wilshire exit will be blocked for the next six weeks.
Nezi told us that he exited the garage on Wilshire
before he was taken.
Sam knew his cover was bogus.
When I broke into the building, I was able to find
our weapons and my cell phone, so I texted Ops
the location of the phony meeting
that we told Nezi about.
Which reminds me. Uh...
"Another fine mess"?
Think maybe we could come up with a watchword
a little hipper than Laurel and Hardy?
I love Laurel and Hardy.
The big guy's smart.
I'm with him-- I love Laurel and Hardy.
The perfect thing to celebrate your safe homecoming,
my famous Swedish nachos.
Go ahead, dig in. Just take a...
Oh, I'm... Take a little bit.
They're, uh, they're gluten free. Oh, not right now.
Just... ERIC: Thanks, but no.
Um, when, um... Do you...?
So, when we said that we...
liked them, we actually
meant... we were...
You were just being polite? Yeah.
NELL: Well... you worked so hard
and, you know, it was Christmas.
Sorry. And this is coming out now?
What's up, Granger?
Wait a minute.
Swedish nachos, right?
Yeah. Nacho meatballs?
Yeah.
GRANGER: I missed this the first time around,
I'm not missing it this time.
I'm going to try one right now. Get in there.
(chuckling) Uh... Mm, mm!
That's pretty good.
Thank you. It's good.
Finally, someone with a palate.
(laughing)
What?
Nothing.
In fact, it makes perfect sense.
KENSI: Bon appétit.
== sync, corrected by elderman == @elder_man