NCIS

Carla Marino, matriarch

of the biggest organized crime family in the Midwest.

If you ever go anywhere near Melinda

or her daughter again, I will

personally see to it that

that is the last thing that you ever do.

Carla is the head of Nexus.

You killed my son.

Killing me isn't gonna change anything.

I'm not gonna kill you, Alden.

That'd be too easy.

Come on.

No!

His dad was shot with a nine-millimeter SIG Sauer.

She used Parker's own gun against his dad?

-Where is she? -She mentioned a boat called the Quentin.

-Currently docked outside Baltimore. -Ship's already left port.

Either Parker's learned to walk on water...

Or he is already on that ship.

Parker alone with the woman who murdered his father.

Speed and course are steady. No radio chatter.

Parker's running out of time.

Oh, crap.

Command and control is being relinquished

to Navy Special Operations. Vice Admiral Parker.

YANKEE ONE Confirmed. Yankee One is go for strike.

Yankee Two is go for strike.

The Quentin has been confirmed a threat

to national security.

My orders are clear...

disable or destroy

before it clears U.S. waters.

What, you're gonna blow it out of the water?

Carla may be on that ship, but so is your brother.

-Admiral, please. -Yankee One and Two,

you are cleared hot.

Fire.

Confirmed.

Yankee One. Weapons hot.

Confirmed. Yankee Two...

God help you.

Director, that... was not us.

What?

Yankee One, we've lost visual.

Request after action sitrep.

Negative. No action taken. No weapons released.

Target appears to have... imploded.

Imploded? By itself?

How bad is it? What's the damage?

Yankee One, do you have eyes on target?

Affirmative. Target destroyed.

Repeat, target destroyed.

Parker.

Rescue and recovery operations

have been nonstop since we brought this vessel on scene.

Prelim confirms traces

of tactical ordnance aboard the Quentin.

Appears a weapons malfunction triggered a cook-off.

It's an accident.

Survivors?

So far, only partial remains have been recovered.

None intact enough to ID.

12 crew on the manifest,

not counting Carla Marino or my brother.

Divers are still in the water.

I think we both know the odds.

I'm sorry.

If you're looking for an explanation, Director...

No, I know better.

Higher the ladder, harder the choices.

Wasn't a choice. It was an order.

That's what we tell ourselves.

Can't believe this is real.

It's real. DOJ's already closing the book.

Carla is presumed dead, along with everyone else on that ship.

Hey, guys.

Hey, Jimmy. If you need a safe space, join us.

Yeah, wish I could. DOJ may be shutting

things down around here, but my work's just beginning.

The Navy's sending over all the remains for formal ID.

What is this, a funeral? No body? There's still hope.

You've got proof that Parker's still alive?

Uh, no. I have got data, and that's better.

Almost.

Okay, so

a ship like the Quentin always carries a RHIB.

A rigid-hull inflatable boat.

Now, a blast that size? The debris field

should be littered with pieces.

Coast Guard report doesn't show anything.

Exactly. No hull. No rubber. Not a trace.

-So...? -So I put out a BOLO.

On a RHIB?

Because that's like trying to find a kayak in a hurricane.

Hey, positive thoughts fuel faster pings.

-Oh, I told you so. -You've got to be kidding me.

An abandoned RHIB was found

in a private marina outside Virginia Beach.

Any serial numbers or markings?

No, but take a look at this.

What is that? Is... is that a boat number?

No, it feels more like a calling card,

a message.

Coordinates? Code?

It's a rule.

It's Gibbs' rule. Sometimes you're wrong.

Parker's trying to tell us something.

He's alive.

And he doesn't want anyone else to know it.

Appreciate the ride.

You sure you want to get out here?

Ain't nothing out this way.

Exactly.

Suit yourself, buddy.

Hello?

Gibbs?

It's about time.

I take back everything I ever said about microwave food.

Open flame wasn't part of the cooking instructions.

What the hell were you thinking?

I mean, first you vanish,

survive an explosion,

you let everyone think that you're dead. What for?

"Sometimes you're wrong."

So you admit sneaking on that ship was a bad idea?

You left your team behind.

If I hadn't gotten on that ship when I did,

Carla's plan would've worked.

What plan?

This was a setup.

Oh, crap.

That's him.

Don't move!

Where'd he go?

Oh, crap.

Made it to a lower launch platform, found the RHIB.

Explosion did me a favor. Might've given me a little push.

Reports said there was a weapons malfunction,

but you're saying that the ship was rigged?

It was wired to blow?

Doomed before it ever left port.

Carla faked it all. Fur coat, luggage...

The woman that boarded the ship?

A look-alike. Just close enough to pass.

So, when the ship went up,

everyone assumes that Carla went with it.

How can you be sure that it was Carla

that planted the explosives? She's got plenty of enemies.

It wasn't a hit job. She staged it.

Bought herself a clean slate.

She's setting the table for something else. I can feel it.

Gut feeling?

Well, I hear that still counts for something out here.

Out here, yeah, but if you roll into NCIS with

a gut and no proof...

That's why you came out here, right?

To buy time to investigate?

Without interference. No red tape. No higher-ups

pulling the plug.

And Vance can't fire a dead man.

Forget about Vance.

I'd be more worried about your sister if I were you.

Harriet? She's involved?

You could say that.

Whoa.

That bad, huh?

Yeah, the meat puzzle 2.0.

Thousand pieces and no picture on the box.

But I do have a femur here.

Female.

About the same size and build as Carla Marino.

Doesn't exactly help with Parker's theory

that Carla's still alive.

But, hey, at least he's still in one piece.

I thought we were doing puzzle puns.

No, apparently, what we're doing is keeping more secrets.

First Mama Parker's death,

now Parker's "death."

Jess, I'm not cut out for all this cloak-and-dagger stuff.

You're fine. You're hiding out down here.

No one will lie to you but me.

Admiral.

Uh, Vice Admiral. Vice...

Ma'am.

Vice Admiral Parker,

we are still cataloging the remains from the Quentin.

No firm ID on Carla Marino.

I'm not here for her. I came to ask about my brother.

Your brother, right.

Uh, is he here?

No, not here. Definitely not.

Uh, what Dr. Palmer means

is, nothing is confirmed.

We haven't matched any of the remains to your brother.

Right.

I meant that.

Well, I'd like that moment now to, uh, to mourn.

Your father. Right.

And my brother.

Oh, ma'am, there's no need.