NCIS: Origins

I haven't seen her since the hospital.

You ain't been stopping by to check in on her?

Little inconsiderate, ain't it?

I'd ask you to stay, but we'd probably kill each other.

No doubt about that.

Something came to mind, actually.

Place I think you might like.

A community. I'll pack up the house for you.

I can bring you what you need.

Randy told me about Diana?

It's Diane.

Happy for you.

Twitchy Tony is my c.I.

Is lala, back at work yet?

- Yeah. - Yeah? Okay, then. Good for her, man.

Tony, you shorted me on that last round!

Back off!

Let's go.

We had this place in the middle of nowhere.

- It was an old safe house... - Hey.

- Hey. - Where we'd meet up with all our c.I.S.

Confidential informants.

- All right, you know how... - It takes a special kind of person

to bring them into the fold.

- Lala was the best at it. - No!

Over weeks, months, sometimes years,

she'd take the time to get to know them.

Earn their trust.

She made them feel safe.

Safe enough to trust her with their secrets.

A c.I. Named Bambi Rose helped lala

take down a prostitution ring.

A guy we called "black Kenny" had ins on gambling, drugs.

He'd go the extra mile to track down the answer

if lala was the one asking, 'cause she put in the time.

And when you put in that much time,

- you're gonna have a favorite. - Hey.

Lala's favorite was a guy we called twitchy Tony.

She first brought him to the safe house

a couple of years before I got to nis...

- I'm gonna frisk you. - Back when she was

still new on the job.

Tony was a former boxer and a functioning alcoholic.

She said he was nervous as hell that first day.

Don't worry.

- The wind is nuts out there. - Yeah.

Safe house, you know, I can't not... Yeah, you know...

Safest place you ever seen, I'm sure.

Do you play cards?

You know, my-my ma's a tailor, so... you know,

so I always got buttons.

We could do something, like, poker for buttons

- instead of chips? - Yeah.

They played poker for buttons for hours that first night.

- Screw it. - Lala threw her old digital watch

- into the pot... - I'm all in.

'Cause she thought it'd make Tony smile.

But he was more worried about the questions

she was gonna ask.

He knew she wanted tips on an illegal steroid ring.

But Tony didn't have any contacts back then.

Hell, he didn't even have any friends.

Yeah, you know, but I think I could get people talking

if they're wasted, but, no one really

puts me on, like, a friend kind of level.

But... I mean... no.

Don't... like, don't get all like...

You know, I got my mom.

Sure, lala was trying to cultivate a c.I.

But she also saw that here was a guy

that didn't have a friend in the world.

I want you to hold onto this watch for me.

No. I mean, that's... I can't.

That's like... that's really...

I wasn't even gonna take that if I won, man.

Who knows? Maybe when you check the time,

you'll know someone's in your corner.

- Sorry. - No... my god, it's, i-it's nothing,

it's-it's super cheap and-and old.

No, that's just like, that's something...

That's like something a sister might do, you know?

Just, you know, like, give me a watch,

and say that corner thing.

For the next two years, they met up in that safe house

once every couple of weeks, playing poker for buttons.

He really did see her like a sister,

and he was her favorite of all the c.I.S.

That's why what was about to happen

would break her heart.

What the heck?

Sure.

Hello?

- Surprise. - Hey. What are you doing here?

- I'm on my way out. - Wait, no. Already?

Yeah. Franks took the day off to go visit his brother.

I told him I'd do his morning paperwork.

I got the job.

What?

Jordis financials wants me, baby.

I-I thought that was

- just a prelim thing. - No, exactly.

I never thought they'd hire me on the spot.

I mean, it's just glorified assistant stuff to start,

but they're gonna pay for my cpa course.

This time next year,

I'll be a full-blooded accountant.

- Congrats. - Thank you.

So, there is one potential bug,

but I really see it as a feature.

It's for their L.A. office.

And I knew you wouldn't know what to say,

but you don't have to say anything.

Just move with me.

- To L.A.? - Yeah.

There's an nis office there. I checked.

It's bigger than the Pendleton one.

We should ask Randy about it at dinner tonight.

I mean, think about it.

We could get a little apartment,

give this thing a real go.

I-I can't move.

No, but you don't have to answer right now...

No, i-I'm not moving.

My family is here.

I'm sorry, I didn't...

I thought Shannon and Kelly were buried in Pennsylvania.

Nah...

Leroy, I can't pass this up.

I know.

And long-distance is for idiots.

I know.

Why do you have bacon in a cup?

I was taking it to go.

Yeah.

Gibbs?

Something's going on with Tony.

He paged me from the warehouse number.

- Can you meet us there? - I'm not...

- What? - Twitchy Tony paged me "911."

He's never paged me 911. Something's wrong.

At the warehouse?

- The street fighting place? - Yes!

Aren't you listening? Can you meet us there or not?

Yeah, I-I just need a minute.

Forget it. Randy's here.

No, I can...

I wish it was different.

All right, listen up.

- Get out of my way. - If you saw anything or heard anything,

- stand over by the pole. - Anthony baldino?

- Where is he? -The rest of you... - Hey, you heard him.

- Get outside. - Hey, hey.

Just so you guys know, I'm the one that found him.

Get his statement. All of them.

Okay. Why don't you come over here?

Nis. Get out of my way!

Well, hey, who the hell called nis? Excuse me. Ma'am.

Hey. Ma'am.

Detective fields, ocean side homicide.

Somebody called y'all in?

No.

He paged me.

He's my c.I.

Well, neighborhood folks heard a gunshot,

somebody came in and found him, called 911.

Federal agent, guys. Nis.

Coming through. Lala.

What's going on? Why aren't they getting him loaded up?

Got a sucking chest wound and a punctured lung.

They've been trying to seal him up,

but something happened with his airway.

They've been working on him damn near 30 minutes.

Hey. You okay?

Tube's good. Airway's clear. Let's go.

Randy!

Yeah. Folks I talked to didn't see anything.

Tony was unconscious by the time anyone got here.

Get all the info you can,

make sure they're processing the scene right.

Cops gave me a hard time on the way in.

C.i. Status doesn't make it our case.

I said make sure it's done right!

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Ma'am, can't let you on that vehicle.

- Get out of my way. - Ma'am, unless you're family...

- Move! - Hey!

- Let her through. - Unless she's family...

Last I checked, this is my crime scene,

so unless you fancy me grabbing a handful of balls and twisting,

I suggest you shut your trap and let the lady ride

to the hospital.

Damn.

- Patient is secured. - Go.

Agent Franks.

How you doing, Abe?

Your brother says you got a special delivery from Texas.

Mason called last night,

asked me to bring this one asap.

That should come in handy.

Hey, hey, boy. Hey.