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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
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| Apr 27 2012, 5:00 AM EDT | callerbear | |
| Dec 12 2011, 4:10 PM EST | le_bibliothecaire | 115 words added, 30 words deleted |
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| ◄ Previous Episode | Season #: 1 | Episode #: 20 | Air Date: May 4, 2004 | Next Episode ► |
Missing
| Synopsis: |
| A marine goes missing after a date with a reporter. During the investigation, the team discovers that three former members of his unit are dead and suspect the unit commander to be a serial killer. |
| Episode Recap: |
| A couple are sitting in a bar discussing his missing buddies. The Marine is concerned that the woman will also be involved. She reminds him that her husband finding out could also be dangerous. The waitress brings a drink from an admirer and the Marine drinks it and then leaves the woman telling her he'll call. Outside the bar the Marine starts to light a cigarette, gets dizzy, says "I should have told. . ." and collapses. He awakens in an underground area, chained to the wall, his only companion a skeleton. Credits roll. Open on the squad room with Kate walking up to Tony's desk. Banter ensues regarding Tony's typing, fashion sense, and spying on Kate. Turns out he's playing a video game. You see Gibbs approaching as Kate tries to warn Tony. Kate then tries to cover by saying she was giving Tony advice on getting his ears pierced. Gibbs remarks that if Tony wants to look like a gay pirate, that's Tony's call. Gibbs then informs them that a Marine gunnery sergeant is missing. They are involved because this gunny knows how to arm small yield nuclear weapons. They gear up and follow Gibbs to the elevator. As the elevator doors shut, Gibbs lets Tony know that he knows all about the computer game. The Marine is Bill Atlas and they track his pick-up truck to the bar. Tony, of course, hits on the waitress. The waitress identifies the Marine from the picture. Kate stays to interview her while Gibbs and Tony go out to the parking lot to look at the pick-up truck. The Marine was 1 year away from a 20-year pension, so they don't believe he just walked away. Tony spouts statistics about missing people to which Gibbs replies he's not big on statistics. Whereupon Tony inserts his foot into his mouth by remarking on statistics on failed marriages and Gibbs' marital track record. One of Gibbs' hard looks and they are back at work. Soon, however, Tony is taking pictures of the waitress instead of the crime scene. Gibbs finds Atlas' lighter in the parking lot; Tony finds an unlit cigarette. Cut to Atlas. He hears footsteps approaching. Someone is watching him through a cut-out in the door. Atlas tries to reason with the observer, then begs for food, then shouts "say something" and starts frantically trying to get out of his chains. Cut back to the bar parking lot. Kate has a sketch of the woman who was with Atlas the other night. Tony is back flirting with the waitress. Gibbs is losing patience with Tony. Tony comes over to report that he got her name. Gibbs could care less until Tony reveals that he got the waitress to remember that the woman paid with a credit card and he's got the woman's name, Carol Powers, and her occupation, journalist (one of many examples of Tony's process and how he often looks like he's goofing off, only to hand Gibbs vital information on the case). Gibbs is brought up short by the fact that Tony wasn't just flirting but has found them their first lead, though he should not have been surprised, and Tony gets a grudging "Good job" from Gibbs. They pull Carol in for a chat. Kate is handling it in the squad room. Carol denies knowing Atlas and denies the affair. Things immediately turn hard ball and Carol is in the interrogation room facing Gibbs. Carol denies that her husband knew she was having an affair. She says that Atlas contacted her 3 weeks ago, telling her that several of his friends had gone missing and he might be next. Atlas was worried that someone in his unit was killing them. Kate and Tony are observing the interrogation. Kate believes her, Tony thinks Atlas was just lying to get Carol in bed. Tony tells Kate all men lie, it's expected of them. Kate reminds Tony that not all men are like him, to which Tony responds "You honestly still believe you look 25?" Kate's rueful answer: "not anymore." Gibbs walks Carol to the elevator, letting her know that her husband will find out about the affair. Carol semi-threatens to publish her story but Gibbs is very clear that he doesn't care. Kate asks why Gibbs was so hard on her, it's because Carol reminds Gibbs of his ex-wife. Which one? All of them. They discuss the husband's alibi which is valid and then they talk about Atlas' story about men missing from his unit. They are concerned that terrorists, at which they all glance at Gibbs' computer which is running face recognition software non-stop on the terrorist from Bete Noire, are taking out EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) personnel. They also discover that Atlas has a new CO, one with whom he had a physical altercation several years ago. Then they are interrupted by a phone call from Abby. Cut to Atlas. The watcher is back. Atlas again demands to know who it is, what they want, what organization are they with. Silence. And then a swarm of bees is released into the cell with Atlas. Cut to Abby's lab. Abby was bored so she ran every single test she could think of on the cigarette. How bored was Abby? She's building a model of the battle of Gallipoli. They digress to look at her model until Gibbs' angry looks get them back on track. Abby found traces of brawn (spelling?) which is a mixture of speed and cocaine and can be bought over the counter in Japan and Okinawa. Atlas was stationed in Okinawa. Gibbs wants to go to Quantico. Tony starts to talk about rush hour traffic but is silenced by Gibbs' look. Kate and Tony leave to get the car. Gibbs says he has something more constructive for Abby to do with her time. He also tells Abby that Gallipoli was an amphibious operation, which piques her interest. Fortunately her diorama is on styrofoam so it will float. We do not hear what Gibbs wants Abby to look at. Instead we Cut to rush hour traffic. Tony jabbers about rush hour and Gibbs threatens him. Tony slurps his drink, which Gibbs takes away and throws out of the car. Tony accuses Gibbs of littering, Gibbs doesn't care. Kate is on the phone and learns that Atlas' CO, Major Sacco, is not at Quantico but out in the field disarming a bomb. Cut to a pickup truck in the middle of nowhere with two people in a haz-mat type suits trying to disarm a bomb located in the bed of the pickup truck. The men fail in their attempts to disarm the bomb and it goes boom. They are being lectured by Sacco when Gibbs arrives. Sacco is not concerned about Atlas' disappearance. He feels that Atlas is a "marginal" Marine, has alcohol problems, and that they are better off without him. Sacco acknowledges their problems in the past but does not clarify them. Gibbs and team believe that Sacco is hiding something. As they are walking away, Gibbs starts to say "You two might want to cover your..." and then a big explosion occurs. Kate and Tony drop to the ground, Gibbs finishes "ears" and continues walking. Gibbs is taking a more scenic route back to avoid traffic. It's Tony's turn in the back seat and he is feeling car sick. Abby calls, Kate answers. Abby has investigated the Atlas/Sacco incident and discovered that three other Marines from their old unit have gone missing. All three that are now missing, carried as deserters, served with Atlas under Sacco in the Philippines. Cut to Atlas. There are still some bees buzzing around. Atlas is trying to kill them, but he is in a bad way. Cut to the squad room where they're looking at the three missing Marines they just found out about. They have all disappeared without a trace, spread over several years. Gibbs isn't ready to bring in Sacco, he wants more information on what went on in the Philippines in 1992. Gibbs makes assignments and leaves. Tony reminisces about the good old days when Gibbs confided in them. Kate says they didn't exist. Tony is glad that he isn't the only one who doesn't remember them. Cut to Gibbs in MTAC viewing the clip of the terrorist over and over again with a flashback to the shoot out where Gibbs shoots the terrorist and the terrorist shoots him. Gibbs rubs his chest where the terrorist shot him. Cut to Abby's lab. Kate is coming in to help Abby research the 1992 EOD team and discovers that Abby is now making boats for her Gallipoli diorama. Getting back to the case, Sacco's EOD unit in 1992 was clearing out the ammunition storage dumps because they were closing the base. Kate asks how big his unit was; Abby replies that they could ask him but in her experience men lie about those things. Then she replies six men. Abby has identified the sixth man. He got a bad conduct discharge for assaulting his CO in 1999. Abby has been trying to find him, without luck. As she is speaking to Kate, Abby is getting ready to leave. Abby is going to a party. Kate doesn't understand how Abby gets to leave; Abby replies that she just asked Gibbs. Abby tells Kate to call if she needs help, but tells her to just disregard any background noises she will hear. Cut to the squad room. Tony is full back in his chair, asleep and snoring. Gibbs walks in and hovers over him, takes a piece of the pizza from Tony's desk, and hollers at Tony with a mouthful of pizza. Tony responds that he cannot hear anything since the explosion yesterday. Gibbs tells him to find Kate and be prepared to brief him. Tony springs into action, shouting for Kate. No response. Tony screams and Kate pops up from the floor behind her desk, very disheveled. Tony keeps a toothbrush, etc. in his desk drawer and begins to clean up. Kate just stands there looking unhappy. Cut to Atlas. We hear the door slam. Atlas wakes up and asks who is there in a very quavering voice. Atlas sees a cross on the floor and picks it up. Atlas realizes who has captured him and starts screaming that he didn't know, that they have to believe him, he didn't know. Cut to the squad room. Gibbs is still eating the cold pizza. Kate and Tony have cleaned up. Kate declines the offer of pizza. They're still trying to track down the sixth man, he hasn't been heard from since 2002. Sacco was stationed in the vicinity of all the Marines who've gone UA. All they really have is a vague recollection from another Marine that the fight was over a woman. Tony asks to shadow Sacco to see if he can find out something. Gibbs agrees. Tony tries to convince him to let him go, Kate tells him that Gibbs already agreed. Tony blames the explosion for his faulty hearing. Kate wants to go along, Gibbs says no. Gibbs warns Tony to call in every hour. If he misses a check-in, don't come back. (All of Gibbs' lines are delivered with a mouthful of pizza.) Kate tells Tony to be careful; she doesn't want to be stuck working with cranky Gibbs herself. Tony starts to say he's not so bad as Gibbs returns to the room and hollers at Tony for still being there. Cut to Abby's lab. Abby has tracked down the sixth man, Cohen. They found him chained to a wall in a sewer system, dead. Abby is also worried about Tony. Abby has a weird feeling; Gibbs is not concerned, tells her that Tony can take care of himself, that Tony does his best work without an audience. Abby asks Kate if she is concerned about Tony, Kate says she thinks Abby is suffering the aftereffects of her party. All Abby drank was Red Bull. How many? asks Kate. Eighteen. Cut to Tony in a car, talking to Gibbs on the phone. Tony is tailing Sacco. Gibbs tells Tony about finding Cohen dead. Tony follows Sacco to the bar. Gibbs is getting a search warrant for Sacco's house. Gibbs is concerned for Tony, he tells him to watch his six. Tony's response: Always. Cut to the interior of the bar. Tony asks for a sarsaparilla, bartender gives him a look, settles for a ginger ale. The waitress appears and chats up Tony. Cut to Abby's lab. Kate and Gibbs are going through all the evidence from Cohen's crime scene. They find a cross which is odd since Cohen was Jewish. Sacco is Baptist. Cut to the bar. Tony tries to hide from Sacco by hitting on an attractive woman, who has a very large boyfriend. Tony fast talks his way out of that one and goes looking for Sacco who has left the bar. Tony reports in to Gibbs and as he's talking on the phone he starts to get dizzy. Tony tells Gibbs he thinks he screws up as he falls to the ground, drops the cell phone and his car keys. He manages to pull his weapon before he passes out. Someone walks up and takes the gun from his hand. Cut to Atlas watching Tony wake up. Welcome to hell. Cut to the bar parking lot. They find Tony's cell phone. Kate and Gibbs do not voice their concern, but it is real. They do not know where Sacco is. And know Gibbs needs to report in to the Director that he has lost an agent. Cut to Atlas. Tony is not chained and is looking for a way out. Atlas is amazed that it has only been a week. He is in very bad shape. Tony has a plan, it's just a little fuzzy. He tells Atlas to think positive. Atlas does. He's positive he's screwed. And he laughs. His sense of humor is still there. Tony says Rule Number 9. Atlas has no idea what he's talking about. Tony finds out that Gibbs' Rules are not from the Marine Corps, though he doesn't seem very surprised and remars that he always suspected Gibbs was just making those up as he went along. Rule Nine is always carry a knife. Tony uses it to unscrew the chain from the wall. Cut to the squad room. Kate is profiling the killer. Gibbs realizes that Tony saw something, but Tony probably didn't realize how important it was. McGee comes running in, Gibbs tells him he's late. Kate tells McGee to use Tony's desk, Tony has other things on his mind than his desk right now. Cut to Atlas. Tony has the chain loose. Atlas is looking at the cross. He wants to confess. Atlas tells Tony that he deserves this punishment, that they killed four girls and that Sacco was in love with one of them. Cut to Ducky in autopsy. Ducky has reviewed the autopsy report for Cohen. Ducky comments on the honey bee stings but also says that's not what killed him. Cohen starved to death and it took weeks, possibly months. Gibbs is relieved because it means Atlas and Tony are probably still alive. Ducky tells Gibbs he'll find them. Gibbs asks if that's a question or a statement. Ducky says a little bit of both. Cut to Atlas. Tony is using the chain and his knife to try and open the door, throwing the knife out the cut-out in the door to try and hook the handle. Atlas tells the story of the girls. How they tried to ship them home in a packing container but they didn't end up on the ship with the girls. The girls starved to death. The girl Sacco loved was one of these girls; she left Sacco for Atlas. Atlas figures that's why Sacco saved him for last. Cut to exterior. A vehicle pulls up and Sacco gets out, complete with sidearm. Sacco enters the building and begins going down into the basement. Cut to Abby's lab. Abby and McGee are working side-by-side, sharing the same Caf-Pow. They've found a match with a fingerprint from the cross found with Cohen. It matches a print on Carol Powers' credit card receipt from the bar. Kate assumes it is Carol Powers. McGee recommends more tests but is interrupted by a phone call. They've found Sacco's vehicle. Gibbs wants an arrest warrant for Carol Powers. McGee calls Gibbs Boss and corrects it to Agent Gibbs. Abby tells Kate to bring him back. Cut to Tony. He's still trying to open the door. Atlas says he'll never make it. Tony says Atlas must not be a Marine then. The Marines he knows, they don't quit. Cut to exterior. Gibbs and Kate arrive on scene. The LEO recommends waiting for the canine unit as they are down in the sewer system. Gibbs asks about the second car there, it's a stolen vehicle. Gibbs tells the LEO that he doesn't get lost and goes in. Sacco is also down in the sewer system. He finds the empty cell and begins yelling for Gunny. Now you see Tony helping Atlas as they run through the sewers. Sacco continues to yell for Gunny as Tony hauls Atlas around. Gibbs and Kate hear Sacco screaming. Kate takes it as a sign that Tony is still alive. Who else pisses people off like that? Atlas has to rest. Tony gives him 10 seconds to rest while Tony reconnoiters. Tony realizes they're going in circles and makes a mark on the wall. Atlas begs Tony to leave him when Tony hears Gibbs whisper his name. Gibbs and Kate are on the other side of the wall; they talk through a grate. Tony has to keep moving because Sacco is right behind them. Tony takes off carrying Atlas. Sacco is still chasing them. Tony finds a room filled with sunlight. There is a window blocked by bars. Tony remarks that his father was right, he is going to end up in the gutter. Sacco comes around the corner and finds Tony and Atlas in the room. He is surprised to see Tony and asks why Tony didn't stop. Tony tells him to put down his weapon first. Sacco is surprised that Tony thinks he will shoot him. Sacco says that he followed her there. That he didn't want to believe it but she was completely insane and they had to get Atlas out before she came. Tony asks "Who?" just as Sacco is shot twice in the back. Sacco collapses. The waitress comes into view and answers "That would be me." The waitress completes the story of the botched shipping container. Sacco found her alive. The other girls had died. She has been killing the other men. Gibbs and Kate have reached the opening to the room. They are listening to the waitress ramble on. Kate has orders to take her out if Kate thinks she's going to shoot anyone else. She was the youngest of the four girls. The others gave her their food so she could live. She ended up living in the container with their corpses. She's been hunting down and killing those responsible, even though it has taken her eight years. Tony steps in front of Atlas to shield him from Vanessa, who is going to shoot him. Tony tells her "We can't let you do this?". "We?" she asks as Kate comes around the corner and commands her to "Drop it!" Tony uses Kate's distraction to grab Vanessa, and responds: "My friends." Kate trains her weapon on the waitress and they take her into custody. Cut to the elevator at NCIS. Gibbs, Tony, and Kate are in the elevator. Tony has not changed or cleaned up since coming out of the sewers. Tony is badgering Gibbs to get him to admit that Gibbs was worried about Tony, that he cared about Tony. The elevator opens and Gibbs strides out. Tony chases after him, continuing to question him. Gibbs stops and turns and looks at Tony. "Tony, as far as I'm concerned, you're irreplaceable." Gibbs has taken Tony's face in his hands and he gives him a light, affectionate slap on the jaw. Gibbs turns and walks away with Tony following telling him how he knew it all along, that Gibbs really did care for him. They come around the corner and Gibbs says "Forget about it McGee. He's still alive." McGee looks up with that deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. He's sitting and working at Tony's desk. McGee's look turns into a smile as Tony gets a look of disbelief on his face. They all look over at Gibbs behind his desk. Gibbs has that self-amused smile on his face. |
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