NCIS: Origins

Silence.

That's how Dr. Magnus liked to work.

He liked things to be orderly.

He liked things to be efficient.

He liked just the facts.

Subject is male. 53 years old.

Caucasian.

But Dr. Magnus had this assistant.

And, man, did he like to talk.

I'm off, just popped by to collect my things.

Almost left without them, can you imagine?

Course airport traffic'll be a nightmare now.

Hello. Who have you got there?

Nasty bruise. What happened to him?

Blunt force trauma, by the looks of it.

Right, sorry.

"Respect the working silence."

We need silence to think.

To make sure we don't miss anything.

Yes, yes, of course.

And I don't want you missing a thing out there, either.

Don't worry, I'll make meticulous notes

and report everything back to admiral cane.

It'll be the most rigorously chronicled three days

since the Woodstock music and art fair.

What's in the, mysterious package?

Something for an old friend. Haven't seen him for a while.

I-It's not a social call, you know.

There's gonna be eyes on you, too.

Remember, you'll be representing

the east coast on the west coast.

Indeed, I will.

He was all squared away for that cross-country trip.

Hold up, doctor.

But I had no idea he was coming.

Well, I'd be lost without that, wouldn't I?

I had no idea that Pendleton was about to get hit

by the one and only Dr. Donald "ducky" Mallard.

You see the memo this morning?

From headquarters? Yeah.

It didn't make any sense.

Says admiral cane is sending a liaison

to see if we need an in-house medical examiner.

What part didn't make sense?

We already have a medical examiner.

Dr. Tango is the county m.E.

He's not exclusive to us, you know.

He's not?

How long you been working here now, Gail?

- Morning. - Morning.

Ooh, Mary Jo got the good coffee.

How's it going?

- Living the dream. - Awesome.

Hey, sparky. Forgetting something?

Sourdough. It's your favorite.

- Here. It's sourdough. - That's your favorite.

- What's wrong with it? - Shh, nothing.

Yeah, no, this is heaven.

You never say no to Kowalski's bread.

Are you sick or something? This is what my mom used to do.

What? I'm checking...

- I don't want you to. - Stop. I'm trying to check for...

- I'm not sick! - Then why don't you want the bread?

Watch the crumbs, randolf.

You guys read this?

Yeah, we read it, sir.

Says Pendleton could be next in line to get our own

- in-house medical examiner. - Medical examiner.

- Just like hq. - That's what it says,

but that's not what it means.

We are D.C.'s scrappy little brother.

They are never gonna give us our own m.E.

- Then why are they... - It's a cover, randolf.

- For what? - The restructure.

Rumor has it,

they're talking about changing the agency's name.

To what? What's wrong with nis?

Forget about the name. An agency-wide restructure

means transfers, firings.

This liaison is coming to gather intel on us.

So, we need to, you know, make the office look good.

Make it look necessary. Clear?

Mary Jo, has Franks seen the memo?

I briefed him, who knows if he heard.

What does that mean?

I don't know. Something's up with him.

Yeah, well, he, submitted some veterinary bills

for reimbursement, and I rejected them.

Yeah, I know we all love Gary Callahan,

but he's still a dog, and the bills were excessive.

I'm sorry, could you please just not talk to me right now.

I have a splitting headache.

Why are you two not at the crime scene?

What crime scene?

We had a call come in a half an hour ago.

I told Gail to tell you.

Gail, I swear to god. Gail!

Nis? The rest of your guys are already inside with the body.

- Thanks, man, appreciate it. - Victim's name is Mimi I am,

wife of Navy lieutenant commander Roland I am.

They own the restaurant, Hawaiian joint,

not open to the public yet.

No sign of forced entry.

Husband came in this morning,

found the wife dead and called 911.

We figured out the naval connection and called you.

Here is the husband's statement.

- Where is he? - I sent him home.

- Why would you do that? - Guy was distraught.

Said he needed to be alone.

You sent our witness home before we could talk to him?

I wrote it all down.

We need to do our own interview.

- Ma'am. - This is our crime scene!

I'm telling you right now,

I'm averse to people yelling in my face.

Well, I'm averse to idiots. How about that?

Okay, wow. I think we might be getting

unnecessarily hostile.

- Rando! - There's no need for name calling.

Quit yapping and get in here.

Well, you act like an idiot,

- I'm gonna call you an idiot. - Ma'am.

The hell is he? Randolf!

Yeah, i-I'm here.

She's frozen solid?

You think?

There's a computer over there needs looking at.

Where the hell you been?

Why is everyone so hostile today?

What?

I'm gonna look at the computer, boss.

Cop's a dumb-ass. I sent him and his buddies home.

Look at the pictures he took of the crime scene.

His fingers are in half of them.

Here. I'll get that.

You might want to get some of the freezer handle.

It's busted.

What do you think, chief? Someone put her in there,

or she walked into the freezer herself, got stuck?

It's not the freezing I'm concerned about.

It's the unfreezing.

I'm reminded of the Swedish warship vasa

that sank in 1628

and was recovered 300 years later, almost intact,

preserved by the icy waters of the baltic sea.

The crew, however, were not so lucky.

Thawing a human body is a tricky process.

Although, I do recall there was one sailor

whose brain was salvaged

after being frozen for three centuries.

Who the hell are you?

Dr. Mallard?

Hello, Jethro.

You haven't changed one bit.

What are you doing here?

I'm your liaison.

They were supposed to send out a memo.

It didn't mention a name.

- What memo? - I didn't know you'd be here either,

until admiral cane gave me a file

on all the employees in your office.

Jethro is the reason I came to work for nis.

He once told me I'd make a good medical examiner.

Do you remember?

12 years is a long time.

Our time together was undeniably cut short,

but you must remember that?

It was the better part of a week

after I was driving on the wrong side of the road

and smashed into a car in which Jethro here

was being detained, inside the boot of all places.

I don't care who sent what memo, this here's a damn crime scene.

The last place one would expect for a reunion.

Boss, Dr. Mallard is the assistant m.E. In D.C.

He is here to figure out if our office needs an in-house m.E.

Yeah, Wheeler reminded us to be good hosts.

Yeah. Bernard randolf.

I had a great grandfather named Bernard. He had red hair, too.

- We don't need an m.E., we've got tango. - Of course you do.

I'm just observing.

That pattern is luiseño, if I'm not mistaken.

Although, I imagine you prefer

the tribe's proper name, payómkawichum,

"people of the west."

- How'd you know? - It's that distinctive weaving pattern.

It was featured on a collectible postage stamp,

and I happen to have a fondness for the fine hobby

of philately.

But please do, carry on with your work.

Just, yeah, just pretend I'm not here.

Was the victim killed first or did she die in the freezer?

I really can't make a call in this state.

It's like Dr. Mallard said, the body has to be thawed.

Thawing's gonna take about three days.

May I tell you a story about my great grandfather Bernard?

My god, yes, please.

Shut your pie-hole, ran do.

So I ain't gonna get a cause of death for three days?

When he was a boy, grandpa Bernard had an indomitable love