When a petty officer working in Intelligence receives a pair of cobalt blue eyeballs in the mail, the NCIS team starts investigating the case. The sailor commits suicide during the investigation and after Abby matches the eyes to a South American girl in a photo with the dead man's lecturer, Kate and Tony must travel to the Triple Frontier destination of Paraguay to discover the disturbing truth.
EXT. APARTMENT COMPLEX - DAY DONOVAN: (INTO PHONE) It's always about him. He called me at seven thirty last night, expecting me to drop whatever I was doing, just because he was available. No, I didn't have any plans, but that's not the point. I'm not crazy about his friends, either. None of them are married. The point is I know where this is leading. Nowhere. Yeah, I guess so. Give me a half hour to wash up. I'll meet you there. No, I'm listening. Somebody sent me a package. I don't know. Whatever it is... it's cold. (DONOVAN SCREAMS) (MUSIC OUT) (THEME MUSIC UP OVER OPENING TITLE/SCENES/ CREDITS AND OUT) MUSIC IN: INT. AUTOPSY ROOM - DAY DUCKY: My my... you are hypnotic, aren't you? No thank you, Mister Palmer. Better to poke around with these. Did you know the word autopsy comes from the Greek, meaning to see for one's self? JIMMY: They didn't offer Greek at my high school. DUCKY: Oh perhaps we should try Latin then. Are you familiar with the term keratoplasty? JIMMY: Ah, cornea transplant surgery. DUCKY: Oh, then your education did pay off. JIMMY: My mother will be pleased to hear that. (SFX: DOORS SLIDE OPEN) GIBBS: What do we know, Duck? DUCKY: I've only just started, Jethro. How did these come into our possession? GIBBS: They were in a package delivered to a Petty Officer. Mailman put them in the wrong box. Neighbor opened them up and scared the hell out of her. DUCKY: I should imagine so. Well, these have been enucleated, and preserved with skill and care by a surgeon. Assuming they're as healthy as they appear, transplantation would be the inevitable conclusion. I don't necessarily need your body to discover what happened to you. They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul. [SCENE_BREAK] INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY KATE: Wow. I'm impressed. You can actually sleep with your eyes open. TONY: Yeah, I'm meditating. KATE: Yeah, on how much you drank last night or trying to remember her name. TONY: I don't kiss and tell, Kate. MCGEE: Since when? I know more about your s*x life than I do my own, Tony. TONY: That's not hard to believe, Probie, considering you don't have one. KATE: Gibbs wants to know everything there is to know about this package. And if I were you I wouldn't let him catch you napping. TONY: Thanks for the advice, but I got it covered. GIBBS: Anybody, talk to me. KATE: Well, I'm checking with eye banks and the MTCs that handle tissue and organ donation. GIBBS: Any of them missing a set of blue eyes? KATE: Well, I haven't heard back from them yet. MCGEE: Ah... no return address on the package, Boss, but I did contact the post office. GIBBS: Yeah, and? MCGEE: They are running the tracking number from the barcode. Yeah, I'm going to call them back right now. TONY: TONY: Package was addressed to a Petty Officer Second Class Benjamin Horlacher, stationed in Dam Neck. Currently on a seventy-two, due back tomorrow. Now that's a seventy two hour leave there, Katie. He's a student at the Navy and Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center. Been living at that address since last September. Military records are clean. (CONT.) The only things that stand out are a speeding ticket two months ago and he didn't pay is cable bill last week. GIBBS: Good to know somebody is working around here. KATE: (INTO PHONE) Thank you. (TO GIBBS) So far no one's reported missing a pair of cobalt blues, Gibbs. MCGEE: The package was shipped two days ago from Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. TONY: Paraguay. The T-B-A. That's the Tri-Border Area. It's where Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil meet. It's a base of operations for smugglers, drug trafficking, illegal organ trafficking. GIBBS: And Hezbollah and Al Qaeda cells. TONY: All right, we'll meet you out front, Boss. We're going to Dam Neck! KATE: You didn't move all morning. How did you know that? TONY: Work smarter, not harder, Katie. You'll live longer. Probie, I want to know who shipped that package from Paraguay soon as I get back. MCGEE: You got it Boss - uh, Tony. TONY: Let's move it, Kate! [SCENE_BREAK] EXT. APARTMENT COMPLEX - DAY ROBINSON: Believe me, this isn't the first time that fool mailman put stuff in the wrong box. I got a video of some college girls just last week flashing their you-know-whats. KATE: When's the last time you saw Petty Officer Horlacher, Ma'am? ROBINSON: A couple days ago. TONY: What can you tell us about him? ROBINSON: He's quiet. He keeps to himself. He's got a girlfriend. GIBBS: Do they live together? ROBINSON: Who knows these days? She comes and goes. I think he made her a key. It's a violation of the lease, but I looked the other way. GIBBS: We'd like to look at Horlacher's apartment. Is that a problem? ROBINSON: Considering what was in that package? Please do. I see you're not wearing a wedding ring, Agent Gibbs. Maybe you'd like to inspect that video with me when you're done? TONY: He is single. [SCENE_BREAK] INT. APARTMENT - DAY ROBINSON: Now how does a fine man like that stay single? KATE: Well, he didn't. He's been married three times. ROBINSON: Hmm... KATE: I'll let you know when we're finished, Ms. Robinson. ROBINSON: Okay. (DOOR CLOSES) KATE: Wow. I'll take the bedroom. GIBBS: This guy is already in trouble. Girlfriend's taken over. TONY: Maybe not. Killing Fields, Undercover Agent. KATE: (V.O.) There's make up in the bathroom. (ON CAMERA) There's women's clothes in his closet. But I can't say much for her taste. GIBBS: Let's see if we can find out her name. KATE: Right. (DOOR OPENS) HORLACHER: Who the hell are you? GIBBS: Petty Officer Benjamin Horlacher? NCIS. HORLACHER: What's going on, Sir? GIBBS: We're here to investigate a package delivered to you, opened by mistake by your neighbor. Sent from Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. TONY: It contained human organs. A pair of eyes. HORLACHER: Eyes? You've got to be kidding me, Sir. GIBBS: Where've you been the last couple of days, Petty Officer? HORLACHER: On a seventy-two, visiting my family in New Jersey. TONY: You're training to be an intelligence analyst at Dam Neck? HORLACHER: Yes, Sir. TONY: What area of the world do you cover there, Petty Officer? HORLACHER: Central and South America. KATE: Have you ever been to Paraguay? HORLACHER: Never. Look, I don't know what's going on here, but I'm sure there's... GIBBS: Maybe your girlfriend does. HORLACHER: I don't have a girlfriend. KATE: So what woman is keeping all of her clothes in your bedroom? HORLACHER: We broke up a month ago. She hasn't come back yet to pick up her stuff. I'm telling you I don't know anything about eyes. Shouldn't you have a warrant or something to be in here? GIBBS: You keep yourself available, Petty Officer. We'll have more questions for you. HORLACHER: Yes, Sir. (DOOR CLOSES) [SCENE_BREAK] EXT. APARTMENT - DAY KATE: There was an open lipstick in the bathroom. The girlfriend's still living there, Gibbs. TONY: Definitely hiding something. GIBBS: Oh, yeah. TONY: So why are we letting him walk? GIBBS: We're not. You two are staying here. Watch him. I want to know what he does next. (INTO PHONE) Yeah, Abs?(PHONE RINGS B.G.) (BEGIN TELEPHONE INTERCUTS) (SCENE CUT) DUCKY: Jethro, can you hear me? ABBY: He can hear you. GIBBS: (V.O./FILTERED) What do you got? DUCKY: Well, I... I'm sorry. Ladies first. ABBY: That is so sweet. DUCKY: Oh it's a pleasure, I'm sure. GIBBS: (V.O./FILTERED) Today, Abby. ABBY: Okay. (V.O./FILTERED) So I ran the DNA (ON CAMERA) through AF-DIL. I didn't get a match, but we can definitely start calling ol' Blue Eyes a Jane Doe. Those babies are female. DUCKY: And yes, I think you'd like to know that Ms. Doe gave up her eyes un-willingly. (SCENE CUT) GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) How do you know? DUCKY: (V.O./FILTERED) Well, at first blush the eyes... (SCENE CUT) DUCKY: ...Seemed flawless. But careful dissection showed a large intraorbital hematoma. (SCENE CUT) GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Meaning? DUCKY: (V.O./FILTERED) Jethro... (SCENE CUT) DUCKY: If you slice into an eye like you would, say an egg, you risk nicking the blood vessels. But if you gingerly peal apart the eye layer by layer like an onion... (SCENE CUT) DUCKY: (V.O./FILTERED) ... Then you can be sure... GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Ducky, the short version. (SCENE CUT) DUCKY: Cardiac arrest. I found abnormally high levels of potassium in the vitreous and (V.O./FILTERED) Choroids of both eyes. I'd say (ON CAMERA) she was most likely poisoned. Jethro, did you know (V.O./FILTERED) that corneal transplantation dates back to nineteen oh five? (ON CAMERA) One source of tissue back then were prisoners on death row. Who - Jethro? (BEEP TONE) ABBY: He's not there. DUCKY: Oh, we lost the connection. ABBY: No, he hung up. DUCKY: Oh. ABBY: But you can tell me the rest of the story. Go back to the part where you were peeling the layers off the eyeball. [SCENE_BREAK] INT. CAR - PARKED KATE: Wake up! TONY: I am awake. KATE: Would you turn the heat up, please? I'm freezing. TONY: Can't. Smoke from the tailpipe would give away our position. KATE: Great. Can't feel my legs here. TONY: We could do what the Eskimos do to keep warm. KATE: What's that? TONY: They press their bodies together. Of course, the effect is greatly improved if you're naked. KATE: There's not enough liquor on the planet to make that happen, Tony. TONY: I wasn't suggesting the naked part. But if you want to freeze... freeze. KATE: I need a vacation. TONY: Where would you go? KATE: Ooh, someplace warm. Somewhere where there's no cell phone reception. TONY: The tropics. KATE: Oh yes. The tropics would be nice. Horlacher's light just went off. TONY: Well, he's probably going to bed. It's midnight. KATE: I'm glad. Do you think we're going to have to stay here all night? TONY: Why don't you call Gibbs and find out? KATE: Why don't you call Gibbs and find out? TONY: Because I know the answer. KATE: Oh, I need a vacation. (SFX: GUNSHOT) (CAR DOORS OPEN) (MUSIC OVER ACTION/KATE AND TONY RUN TOWARD THE APARTMENT) ROBINSON: What the hell!? KATE: Get back in your apartment! [SCENE_BREAK] INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT (DOOR CRASHES OPEN) (DIALOGUE ON TV CONTINUES AS TONY AND KATE WALK TO THROUGH THE APARTMENT) WOMAN ON TV: I'm blackmailed. MAN ON TV: You always did over-dramatize things. Let's say you're just taking out insurance. WOMAN ON TV: I haven't any money. Not the kind you want. MAN ON TV: No? WOMAN ON TV: No. MAN ON TV: But your adopted family has. WOMAN ON TV: You think I'd ask them for money for you? MAN ON TV: You don't ask. You're a woman, aren't you? Use your head. WOMAN ON TV: No. [SCENE_BREAK] INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT TONY: Clear. WOMAN: No, I won't do it. TONY: He had a secret all right. (MUSIC OUT) [SCENE_BREAK] INT. BEDROOM - DAY GIBBS: What do you have, Duck? DUCKY: Well, it's a sad situation, Jethro. Even in today's enlightened age, transexualism is terribly misunderstood. His identity as a male... JIMMY: Doctor? DUCKY: Yes, Mister Palmer? JIMMY: I think Agent Gibbs was referring more to the forensic aspect of the... situation. Maybe. DUCKY: Has head-slapping been effective for you, Jethro? GIBBS: Yeah, look at the way DiNozzo turned out. DUCKY: Now the pattern of gunpowder residue on the exit wound on his back suggests the weapon was held directly over the heart. Death was instantaneous. In all probability, he took his own life. MCGEE: Boss, don't most suicides shoot themselves in the head? GIBBS: Men. Not women. MCGEE: I guess he didn't think of himself as a man. KATE: She must have known that her secret was going to come out. TONY: Don't you mean he must've known that his secret was going to come out? KATE: Psychosexually speaking, Tony, Horlacher was a woman trapped in a man's body. And when she killed herself, she freed herself. Thus the note. MCGEE: Hey, you know what this reminds me of? Pacci's suspect that we were staking out last year. KATE: That's right! The beautiful pre-op transsexual who seduced Tony. TONY: She didn't seduce me. I was undercover. KATE: Yeah, well didn't you stick your tongue down... TONY: I took one for the team, all right? Someone had to keep her occupied. MCGEE: Don't you mean him? (KNOCKS OVER COFFEE CUP - LONG BEAT) I'm sorry. Sorry, Boss. Uh... I'm sorry. I'll get you a fresh one. It was black, right? Black it is. GIBBS: You didn't see anyone else enter or leave? KATE: No. She was here alone. GIBBS: All right, check his phone records. Maybe he made some other phone calls while he was deciding to off himself. TONY: Already on it. I'll have them tomorrow. KATE: I'm thinking there was no girlfriend, Gibbs, that he was just living a double life. TONY: Puts a whole new spin on don't ask, don't tell. GIBBS: And I'm more interested in the cross-dressing sailor who's getting body parts in the mail spin. Get he-she's laptop to Abby. [SCENE_BREAK] INT. LAB - DAY ABBY: Hey, Gibbs! You're just in time. Okay, from the outside it looks like a normal laptop. But on the inside... voila! Fortified with the kind of data encryption that only someone with something to hide would have. MCGEE: The Petty Officer's protocols are more sophisticated than any P-G-P or D-E-S software I've seen. ABBY: At first, we didn't even understand his obfuscation algorithm! MCGEE: Really hardcore stuff. ABBY: Very, very hardcore. GIBBS: Did you get in, or not? ABBY: Yeah. MCGEE: And no. ABBY: There's just one layer we haven't cracked yet. MCGEE: But we did get Petty Officer Horlacher's blog. ABBY: It's a personal internet journal. Web log. Blog. Get it? GIBBS: Pig Latin? MCGEE: Actually, that would be ebway oglay. Pig Latin adds way to words starting with vowels, and ay to words starting with consonants after moving the part of the word ... but I'm sure you knew that already. GIBBS: Did the blog say anything useful? ABBY: It's mostly men are from the Mars' stuff. He was very interested in the differences between men and women. GIBBS: Men are from where? ABBY: Mars, Gibbs, and women are from Venus. MCGEE: It's a famous book about relationships and communication between the sexes. ABBY: There was a TV show, and a board game, and the guy wrote like ten sequels. I'm beginning to understand why you were married three times. GIBBS: Abby? ABBY: Come look at it for yourself. GIBBS: (READS) Inside every good man there is a better woman. L-O-L? MCGEE: That's laughing out loud. Which, of course, can be topped by- ABBY: R-O-T-F-L-O-L. MCGEE: Rolling on the floor laughing out loud. GIBBS: Keep looking. Horlacher was leading two different lives. I want to know everything there is to know about both of them. A-S-A-P! ABBY: Onway itway, ibbsgay! [SCENE_BREAK] INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY KATE: (V.O.) There was a time I would have killed for a pair of eyes like that. TONY: You think she was a blonde or a brunette? KATE: What difference does it make? TONY: I love brunettes. I'll bet she was beautiful. KATE: Are you telling me that you're attracted to a disembodied set of eyeballs? TONY: Weird, huh? KATE: More like disturbing. TONY: It's kind of like that movie Laura. KATE: Laura? TONY: Yeah. Old movie by Otto Preminger. It's about a cop who falls in love with a painting of a girl whose head's been blown off by a shotgun. KATE: Sounds romantic. TONY: You have no idea. Jean Tierney was a goddess. GIBBS: What do we have? KATE: Well, I called Petty Officer Horlacher's family. He lied about paying them a visit over the weekend. They hadn't heard from him in over a year. TONY: Still can't find a connection to Paraguay, Boss. He never deployed overseas. Doesn't even have a passport. KATE: Yeah, and what I want to know is how a suicidal transvestite attended a top-secret intelligence school without anybody noticing. GIBBS: You contact his faculty advisor yet? KATE: I was just about to. TONY: Name's Lieutenant Commander Guyman Purcell, Retired. Got his PhD in South American studies. I think we should interview him. GIBBS: Yeah? Why's that? TONY: According to Horlacher's phone records, he called the Commander right before he killed himself. GIBBS: That's good work, Tony. Get the car.... Kate. [SCENE_BREAK] INT. LECTURE HALL - DAY (SFX: BOARD SLIDES) PURCELL: Okay, now that we've learned a little bit about recruiting double agents, let's take a moment to consider some of the risks involved. Anybody? GIBBS: DiNozzo, would you like to become left-handed? KATE: You going for your brown-nose badge this week? TONY: You're just jealous 'cause it's working. PURCELL: Yes, Ms. Ellsworth. What kind of a risk does a double agent pose? ELLSWORTH: He could double cross you back, Sir? PURCELL: Exactly. You have just convinced someone to betray that which he holds dearest. His country. His family. Perhaps even himself. These are weak-minded individuals. If your recruit proves untrustworthy, he must be either coerced or abandoned. But nothing can jeopardize the mission. [SCENE_BREAK] EXT. BUILDING - DAY PURCELL: Petty Officer Horlacher is a decent student. That's all I know about him really. GIBBS: Did you cover Ciudad del Este in your class? PURCELL: The Tri-Border Area. Of course, why? GIBBS: Horlacher got a package from there. KATE: Inside were a pair of human eyes. TONY: Cut out of a woman's head. PURCELL: God, that's horrible. What did the Petty Officer say about it? GIBBS: Claims to not know anything about it. KATE: Did you ever spend personal time with him outside of class, Mister Purcell? PURCELL: In my field, the students tend to see their instructors as larger than life. It's best not to get too attached. GIBBS: So that would be a no? PURCELL: Am I being interrogated for some reason? GIBBS: Depends. PURCELL: On what, Agent Gibbs? GIBBS: Why he called you last night. PURCELL: Many of my students call me at home. Last night Benjamin wanted to know if I'd give him an extension on a paper due this week. GIBBS: Did you give it to him? PURCELL: Yes. GIBBS: Good. He could use it. PURCELL: He's in trouble? GIBBS: He's dead. KATE: Killed himself last night. TONY: Right after he got off the phone with you. PURCELL: I don't know what to say. GIBBS: Why don't we start with that you said to him? PURCELL: Well, this wasn't the first time he asked for an extension. I was hard on him. I told him if he couldn't keep up I'd drop him from the course. It would ruin his career. I was trying to motivate him, Agent Gibbs, hold his feet to the fire. I never thought he'd- GIBBS: Jump in? [SCENE_BREAK] INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY KATE: The retired Lieutenant Commander's got his own consulting business. Purcell Security Group. They specialize-- TONY: Intelligence work, Boss. They've got several high paying government contracts. The biggest one's is-- KATE: Southcom. He travelled back and forth to Paraguay ten times in the last six months. And the area he's been working-- TONY: Ciudad del Este. I'm thinking this guy's a spook or working for spooks. KATE: (IN UNISON)... Or working for spooks. Everything concerning his consulting work has been flagged way above my clearance. GIBBS: Great, because I hate spooks. (INTO PHONE) Yeah, Gibbs. Okay, we're on our way. (TO KATE) Abby thinks she found the body that goes with those. KATE: Yes! MUSICAL BRIDGE TO: INT. LAB - CLOSE ON SCREEN PURCELL: (ON TV) Business in Central and South America comes with its own special set of problems. Are you working in a hostile environment? Are you dealing with corrupt or untrustworthy local officials? My course can make the difference between success and failure. Life and death. MCGEE: And there's about four hours of online instruction classes associated with this website. They were bookmarked on Petty Officer Horlacher's hard drive. ABBY: And after watching them, I can say with certainty Purcell needs a charisma bypass. KATE: What does this have to do with the eyeballs, Abby? MCGEE: Well, Horlacher accessed this J-peg file twenty two times last week. ABBY: Look familiar? TONY: Oh, I was right. She is beautiful. GIBBS: How can you be sure it's her? ABBY: Because iris patterns are more distinctive than fingerprints. TONY: More accurate too, Boss. ABBY: The video is grainy, and the angles aren't perfect. The lighting is-- GIBBS: Abby, is it her or not? ABBY: It's an eighty percent match, Gibbs. I think we've got our girl. (MUSIC OUT) MUSIC IN: INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY TONY: (V.O.) A dead transsexual sailor, his spook instructor and a pair of human eyes walk into a bar. (ON CAMERA) What's the punch line, Kate? KATE: Whatever it is, it involves this girl and Paraguay. TONY: That's true, but not very funny. Probie, make me laugh. MCGEE: Okay, uh...yeah, the bartender doesn't believe it, so he asks the spook instructor what the hell is going on. And the guy says, "What? A guy can't have a drink with his pupils?" (BEAT) Nothing? Oh, come on. That was pretty funny... GIBBS: You think this is a joke, McGee? MCGEE: Uh, no? No, I don't, Boss. GIBBS: Good answer. Tony, you're with me in MTAC. Kate, get Purcell in here. We need to talk. MCGEE: He hates me, doesn't he? KATE: Well, hate's a pretty strong word. TONY: More like a mild dislike. KATE: You did spill his coffee. GIBBS: (SHOUTS) Today, DiNozzo! KATE: Gibbs will get over it. MCGEE: When? KATE: Well, let's see. Last year Tony spilled his coffee and he warmed up to him about... an hour ago. So roughly eight to ten months. MCGEE: Okay. [SCENE_BREAK] INT. MTAC - DAY BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) I got your e-mail, Special Agent Gibbs. To tell you the truth, I was shocked. When did you learn to use a computer. GIBBS: Well, times change, Colonel. BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) That they do, Gunny. I've got two grandkids now. I heard you got remarried again. GIBBS: Ah... that didn't work out. BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) Well, then again, some things don't change. How can the Southern Command help you today? GIBBS: I'm investigating a civilian contractor working out of the Tri-Border Area in Paraguay. BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) Name? GIBBS: Guyman Purcell. BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) Yeah, I've heard of him. Oh yeah, he's part of a TAT, Tactical Analysis Team, we have in Ciudad del Este. What's your interest in him? GIBBS: One of his students committed suicide after receiving a pair of female eyeballs in the mail from T-B-A. We think Purcell knew the victim. BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) Body parts in the mail generally denote kidnapping. Eyes? GIBBS: Well, yeah. That does send a hell of a message, Sir. BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) Someone's putting pressure on Purcell. But why? GIBBS: That's what I want to find out. BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) Our TATs work with a few other agencies, and they're not always as forthcoming with information as I would like. But when's that ever stopped us? To old times, Gunny. GIBBS: Old times, Skipper. Old times. (MTAC CLICKS OFF) TONY: What's that supposed to mean? GIBBS: You ask me again in seven years. TONY: Why seven years? GIBBS: It's when the Freedom of Information Act kicks in. [SCENE_BREAK] INT. LAB - DAY ABBY: You know that doesn't work with me. I always know when you're there! Gibbs? (SFX: DOORS SLIDE OPEN) ABBY: That's weird. GIBBS: Are you looking for me? ABBY: You are getting sneakier the older you get. GIBBS: Not to mention better-looking. What have you got? ABBY: Well, I'm still hacking the Petty Officer's files, but I uncovered some emails you'll be interested in. I back-traced the I.S.P. they were sent from. It's a web server in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina. GIBBS: The Tri-Border Area. ABBY: Si. [SCENE_BREAK] INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY MCGEE: Escopeta seven nine four is the originator in Argentina, Boss. TONY: Escopeta means rifle in Spanish. MCGEE: And Shadegirl is one of Petty Officer Horlacher's private email addresses. TONY: You be the transsexual. I'll be the rifle. MCGEE: First exchange was three weeks ago. TONY: I want the hundred thousand for the girl. MCGEE: Shadegirl says her controller will pay only sixty and wants proof. TONY: One hundred thousand. No! Escopeta repeats his demand for one hundred. Swears a bunch in Spanish. MCGEE: Shadegirl insists on sixty and proof. TONY: Swear, swear, swear, threat, swear. MCGEE: And finally Shadegirl goes up to seventy five and says his controller wants proof before the money is sent. TONY: Escopeta expresses is displeasure colorfully, and slips up. He uses a name. A hundred was the price. Tell Purcell his proof's on the way. MCGEE: Petty Officer Horlacher was bearding for Purcell. TONY: How does a transsexual beard, Probie? GIBBS: Proof of a life by ripping out her eyes? I don't buy it. TONY: Escopeta is running a kidnapping ring, Boss. They set examples. You either meet the price or the person dies.(PHONE RINGS) GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Yeah, Gibbs.(BEGIN TELEPHONE INTERCUTS) (SCENE CUT) KATE: (INTO PHONE) Purcell's gone, Gibbs. GIBBS: (V.O./FILTERED) Where? (SCENE CUT) KATE: (V.O./FILTERED) Well, according to one of his students... (SCENE CUT) KATE: (INTO PHONE) He was recalled back to Paraguay. GIBBS: (V.O./FILTERED) You find out... (SCENE CUT) GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) ... What flight he's on. KATE: (V.O./FILTERED) Already did. (SCENE CUT) KATE: (INTO PHONE) His flight landed at the Guarani International Airport ... (SCENE CUT) KATE: (V.O./FILTERED) ... Twenty minutes ago.(END TELEPHONE INTERCUTS) GIBBS: Pack your gear. You're going to Paraguay. TONY: Alone? GIBBS: Take one of them with you. I'll start prepping the op from here. MCGEE: Yes! I've always wanted to go to Paraguay! TONY: Ha! Ai! Arriba! MUSICAL BRIDGE TO: EXT. STREET - DAY TONY: Okay, which way to the Tactical Analysis Team's headquarters? El derecho o izquierda? (The right or the left) KATE: Right. TONY: Derecho. Ah, I should have brought more cash. Look at that. Hey, look at these guys. (TO SALESMAN) Buenos dias. SALESMAN: Bueno. TONY: Is this the local bridge club? Ah, it's not the tropics, but at least it's warm. KATE: Actually, it is the tropics, Tony. TONY: Really? KATE: The Tropic of Capricorn to be exact. TONY: Huh. Tropics smell kind of funny to you, Kate? KATE: It's not the tropics Tony. It would be the plumbing. TONY: How come we never get sent to like Paris or Hawaii? KATE: Oh, come on. It'll be fun. And the best part... no Gibbs checking up on us. [SCENE_BREAK] INT. MTAC - DAY GIBBS: What the hell are they doing? MCGEE: They are stopped about fifty feet from the TAT building. GIBBS: Well yeah, I can see that, McGee! Get them on the satellite phone. [SCENE_BREAK] EXT. STREET - DAY TONY: Check this out, Kate. I-pod for thirty bucks. KATE: First of all it says L-pod on the back. And second... there's nothing in here. (PHONE RINGS) (BEGIN TELEPHONE INTERCUTS) (SCENE CUT) TONY: (V.O./FILTERED) DiNozzo. GIBBS: What's your location? (SCENE CUT) TONY: (INTO PHONE) We're looking for the TAT building right now. The town's kind of hard... (SCENE CUT) TONY: (V.O./FILTERED) .... To navigate. GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) It's fifty feet right in front of you, DiNozzo! (SCENE CUT) TONY: (INTO PHONE) Found it. I take it the GPS chip in the phone is working well? GIBBS: (V.O./FILTERED) Well yes is it. (SCENE CUT) GIBBS: (INTO PHONE) Will you quit screwing around and get moving? You're not on vacation. TONY: (V.O./FILTERED) I'm on it, Boss. (END TELEPHONE INTERCUTS) GIBBS: Patch me in to Colonel Bushnell. MCGEE: On it. Switch over to Southern Command. GIBBS: Colonel Bushnell, my team's at the link-up point. BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) Their in-country guide is Joe Tabarez. He's the watch officer for the Ciudad del Este TAT. Former Marine. Good man. GIBBS: Any word on Purcell? BUSHNELL: (V.O.) Not since he came through customs. He hasn't checked in with any of our people. He's not in Paraguay on South Comm business. GIBBS: What about somebody else's business, Colonel? BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) Well, that's possible. I'm checking that angle now. I know somebody higher up in the chain of command is not making this easy, Jethro. GIBBS: Yeah.(END TELEPHONE INTERCUTS) [SCENE_BREAK] EXT. STREET - DAY TABAREZ: Agents DiNozzo and Todd? I'm Joe Tabarez, Tactical Analysis Team. Welcome to the middle of nowhere. KATE: Nice to meet you. TONY: What's the chain for? TABAREZ: Ciudad del Este anti-theft device. Let's get inside. Don't want to get shot on your first day. (MUTTERS IN SPANISH) [SCENE_BREAK] INT. TAT HEADQUARTERS - DAY TABAREZ: This is the Wild West. If there's a profit in something, it's for sale. Bootlegs, drugs, guns. You name it. It's also Al Qaeda's front line in South America. KATE: What about body parts? TABAREZ: There's folks down here who would sell you a kidney if it meant putting food on the table. Of course, there's also folks who'd gladly take yours for the same reason, Agent Todd. TONY: Tell us about Purcell. TABAREZ: His intelligence work is first rate. Man's developed a lot of contacts down here. KATE: Well, what do you think of him personally, Mister Tabarez? TABAREZ: It's Joe... and I try not to. Off the record, Purcell's one creepy sonovabitch. What's he supposed to have done? TONY: Shipped a pair of woman's eyeballs to a transsexual sailor who killed himself. TABAREZ: And here I thought I'd seen it all. TONY: Do you recognize the girl on the right? TABAREZ: I do. It's Purcell's wife. (MUSIC OUT) [SCENE_BREAK] INT. MTAC ROOM - DAY TONY: (ON MONITOR) We I.D.'d the girl in the photo, Boss. KATE: (ON MONITOR) Name's Anna Real. Purcell married her last year in Paraguay. GIBBS: How old is she? KATE: (ON MONITOR) Seventeen. TONY: (ON MONITOR) And he's been dating her for about three years. KATE: (ON MONITOR) The b*st*rd's a pedophile, Gibbs. GIBBS: Tabarez knew this? TONY: (ON MONITOR) Well, he's the one who told us. GIBBS: I want to talk to him. KATE: (ON MONITOR) He's out trying to find Purcell. GIBBS: Or he's having coffee with him! He looked the other way while Purcell was molesting a fourteen year old. What's that tell you two? (TO MCGEE) Get me Bushnell. MCGEE: On it. GIBBS: You two find me Purcell! [SCENE_BREAK] INT. TABAREZ'S OFFICE - DAY TABAREZ: I wasn't having coffee with him. But I know who was. KATE: Did you report him to Southern Command? TABAREZ: Yes, Agent Todd. I did. Look, if I had my way he'd be lying in the garbage there on the street. But he's being protected. TONY: By who? TABAREZ: Need to know. I don't. Welcome to the wonderful world of spooks. TONY: Who was he having coffee with? TABAREZ: Are you ready to see the seedy underside of Ciudad del Este? KATE: Can it get any worse? BUSHNELL: (V.O.) You believe I would look the other way, Gunny? [SCENE_BREAK] INT. MTAC ROOM - DAY GIBBS: No, Skipper. But someone in Southern Command did. BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) Well I'll find out who and I'll get back to you. GIBBS: I'm going to take him down, Colonel. BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) Just make sure you don't get taken down, Jethro. GIBBS: Special Agent McGee here's got my back. BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) Yeah, right. (MONITOR CLICKS OFF) MCGEE: Thank you. Thank you, Boss. GIBBS: What the hell are you doing? MCGEE: Well, I thought that you were giving it to me. GIBBS: To refill it, McGee! MCGEE: Sorry, I'll get you another one. (DOOR OPENS) [SCENE_BREAK] EXT. STREET - DAY TABAREZ: (IN SPANISH) You are under arrest. Turn around slowly. MEJIA: Ah, Joe! Why you always doing this to me!? TABAREZ: Practicing, Iggy. I've got some friends here who want to talk to you. MEJIA: Oh, sure. You like movies? Hey? Movies? No habla Ingles? I have DVDs. Only five American each, huh? TONY: Five dollars for a DVD? MEJIA: You drive a hard bargain. Only four for you. TONY: Four bucks? Do you have any Hitchcock? MEJIA: I have everything, my friend. I have action. I have the comedy. I have whatever you want. KATE: Actually, we're more interested in information, Iggy. MEJIA: You like handbags, Miss? Oh... KATE: Luis Vuitton! Wow. It looks so real. MEJIA: Uh-huh. Twenty dollars or two for forty. KATE: Really? TONY: Like the lady said. We're more interested in information, Iggy. Have you seen the girl on the right before? MEJIA: Ah, si. TONY: Tell me about her. MEJIA: I heard she passed. TONY: By passed, you mean she had her eyeballs ripped out of her skull? Yeah, Iggy, she passed. KATE: We want to know who did it and why. MEJIA: Life is so cheap here, Miss. Who can say why? TONY: Purcell can. Seen him around lately? MEJIA: Senor Purcell - he's a good man. TABAREZ: That's not what he asked, Iggy. He wants to know if you've seen him. MEJIA: No! No, is he in trouble or what? (PHONE RINGS) KATE: (INTO PHONE) Todd. (MEJIA AND TABAREZ TALK B.G.) KATE: (INTO PHONE) Great. Thanks, McGee. (TO TONY) He found us a hotel. TONY: Good. We need to find Purcell. You help us, we'll help you. MEJIA: How much for the phone? KATE: Phone's not for sale. MEJIA: Come on! We trade, no? All of this plus fifty dollars U.S.. Come on. KATE: It's Government property issued to me. No. TONY: I'll tell you what, Iggy. I'll give you the phone if you promise to tell me when Purcell contacts you. KATE: You're not authorized to give up my phone! TONY: Agent Todd, you are interrupting my negotiation. (TO IGGY) Deal? MEJIA: Si. If Purcell contacts me, I tell you. TONY: Phone number's on the back. [SCENE_BREAK] INT. MTAC ROOM - DAY MCGEE: It's a great idea, Tony. The GPS in Kate's phone is reading loud and clear. I'll call when Iggy moves.` TONY: (V.O./FILTERED) Roger that, Probie. [SCENE_BREAK] INT. TAT HEADQUARTERS - DAY KATE: So do you want me to say sorry or something? You could have given him your phone, you know? TONY: Lead agent never gives up his line of communication. KATE: When did you become the lead agent? I thought we were a team. TONY: We are. I'm the team leader. KATE: So I'm the follower? I don't think so. [SCENE_BREAK] INT. MTAC ROOM - DAY GIBBS: Oh, yeah. I've seen that look before. In Bosnia. When we returned to Brcko two days after NATO ordered us out. BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) I can still smell it burning. I have been given a direct order to protect Purcell as a valuable intelligence asset. GIBBS: Regardless of what he's done? BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) Regardless of what he has done. GIBBS: With all due respect, Colonel... BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) You don't have to say it, Gunny! Only two things a Marine can do when he receives a direct order. Obey or resign. GIBBS: You're resigning your commission? BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) I will never have another Brcko on my conscience. GIBBS: Can you find out who's protecting him? BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) Someone at the farm, but I have no way of knowing who it is. MCGEE: Sir, how do you contact him? BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) Encrypted teleconference like this. GIBBS: You've seen him? BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) No. He's always in shadow. Very corny. Like some cold war film. GIBBS: That's corny, but it's effective. BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) Yeah. MCGEE: Boss, if the Colonel can get him on a teleconference, his encrypter can patch him to us. GIBBS: Skipper! MUSICAL BRIDGE TO: EXT. STREET - DAY TONY: Where the hell are we, McGee?(BEGIN TELEPHONE INTERCUTS) (SCENE CUT) MCGEE: San Gusta Street near the heart of the city. Okay, he's turning left. TONY: (V.O./FILTERED) I know... (SCENE CUT) TONY: (INTO PHONE) ... He turned left. I have a visual. (SCENE CUT) KATE: (V.O./FILTERED) He's stopping up ahead. (SCENE CUT) TONY: (V.O.) Who's he with? KATE: Purcell. (SCENE CUT) TONY: (V.O./FILTERED) Okay, it's Purcell. Should we bring him in, Boss? GIBBS: No. TONY: (V.O./FILTERED) What?! GIBBS: No, DiNozzo. You heard me. Just tail him. (SCENE CUT) GIBBS: Gibbs wants us to follow him. KATE: Why? GIBBS: Does it matter? (SCENE CUT) TONY: (V.O./FILTERED) They're heading into a hotel, Boss. GIBBS: Follow. Don't engage unless you have to. MCGEE: Iggy's altitude's increasing. GIBBS: He's in an elevator. Third floor, DiNozzo.(END TELEPHONE INTERCUTS) [SCENE_BREAK] INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR - DAY (SFX: GATE DOORS SLIDE OPEN) (MUSIC OVER ACTION/MEJIA RUNS FROM KATE) TONY: Going somewhere, Iggy? MEJIA: To find you, my friend. Senor Purcell he contacted me. TONY: Did he now. MEJIA: Si. TONY: What's he doing here, Iggy? MEJIA: It's a hotel. He's staying here. KATE: Wrong answer. [SCENE_BREAK] INT. HOTEL ROOM - DAY PURCELL: First I want you to know that I loved my wife, even if I couldn't trust her. I paid seventy five thousand American. That's a fortune down here. Why are you not dead? ANNA: Escopeta confused me with my little sister. He killed her. PURCELL: She would still be alive if you hadn't threatened to betray me. Goodbye, Anna. ANNA: (SHOUTS) Do it! I'd rather be dead than spend one more day with a monster like you! PURCELL: Close your eyes, Anna. Close your eyes. (SFX: DOOR BURSTS OPEN) KATE: Drop the weapon! TONY: Oh, look at that, Kate. He was actually thinking about trying it. KATE: You double tap the head, I'll double tap the heart. TONY: Deal. [SCENE_BREAK] INT. MTAC ROOM - DAY BUSHNELL: (ON MONITOR) All right, stand by. My farm contact's coming on the system... now. He's all yours, Gunny. GIBBS: Patch me in, McGee. (TO MONITOR) Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS. You either give up Purcell, or I will personally compromise the identity of this man. Ari Haswari. Our link to Al Qaeda for a child molester. Your call. (MONITOR CLICKS OFF) MCGEE: What next? GIBBS: Now we wait, McGee. [SCENE_BREAK] INT. TAT HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT TONY: According to your "wife", you're not just getting intel on rackets in Ciudad del Este, you're actually running some of them. KATE: Drugs, organ harvesting, child prostitution rings. PURCELL: It's my mission to infiltrate these organizations. I'm very good at it. KATE: And having s*x with underage children? TONY: Once she testifies, you're going to spend the rest of your life in Leavenworth, Purcell. PURCELL: No, you misunderstand, Agent DiNozzo. Anna wasn't threatening to tell our Government, she was threatening to tell hers. TONY: What difference does that make? (PURCELL LAUGHS) (DOOR OPENS) TABAREZ: You should have shot him while you had the chance, DiNozzo. KATE: What - you know what he is - what he did. How could you?! TABAREZ: The same what you do. Follow the orders, Agent Todd. PURCELL: Now if you will excuse me, I have a job to do. [SCENE_BREAK] INT. MTAC ROOM - DAY MCGEE: Boss, there's another encrypted transmission coming up on the system. GIBBS: Put it up on the screen. (MUSIC OVER ACTION/PURCELL WALKING IN PARAGUAY/ FALLING TO THE GROUND) (MONITOR CLICKS OFF) GIBBS: Bring our people home. (MUSIC OVER ENDING CREDITS AND OUT)
An Eye for An Eye