NCIS: Origins

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It kept me up.

A voice.

A scream.

The kind you feel instead of hear.

My gut...

It wanted me to stop.

I told myself everything would be okay.

Same as I told her.

And her.

I love you.

Don't walk me to the door.

I know you hate watching me drive off.

My gut screamed louder.

It begged me to stop.

It said if I drove off,

I'd never see them again.

I hit the gas anyway.

And I drove away.

I drove away from them.

It cost me everything.

I told myself I'd never make the same mistake again.

But old habits die hard.

Franks said to bring you this.

I still didn't know how to listen over all the noise.

I still couldn't face the truth,

and the truth was the same then as always.

The louder my gut screams,

the bigger the monster that's lying in wait.

Melanie Hewitt's murder was covered up by the fire.

Can you comment on the fact that the sniper is now

announcing himself out in the open?

When will the Sheriff's Department

issue another statement?

- They talked to you once already? - You're not with the sheriff?

- Boss man. - Who are you with?

Sniper's hide is a hotel room across the way.

Randy and Gibbs are sweeping it for evidence.

Sure it's the same guy?

Two unrelated snipers in one week?

Bastard shot right into the middle of a bonfire party.

Three dead,

all civilians.

Sheriff will pull rank,

but with all we did on the Hewitt case,

there's a good chance we'll get a joint investigation.

Tribune gave the sniper a name.

They're calling him "Sandman."

Because it happened on the beach at night. Get it?

It's clever as hell, and it's gonna catch on.

You got to be kidding me.

Forget about your joint investigation.

They're starting up a task force.

Shuffle on over there, Cliff, and get us on it.

Get us on? (SCOFFS)

No one knows what the hell NIS even stands for.

- All right. - Wait, wait, Mike.

They're gonna take the Hewitt files,

and they're gonna shut the door in our face.

- I said, "All right." - No. Listen to me.

This started on base, Mike.

Okay? Regional's gonna string me up

unless we get a win here.

Why don't you let me go get some statements

before they kick my ass off the beach.

Gentlemen.

- You seeing this? - Yep.

Cliff Wheeler, NIS.

Special agent in charge.

Dr. Tango?

Give me a hand with that zipper, will you?

It's all jammed up with sand.

They're starting up a task force out there.

You mind talking fast?

Unsubstantiated theory:

The forehead shot came first.

Everyone starts running,

so center mass was the cleanest shot

he could get for these second two.

Bullets went through and through.

All three were recovered and couriered to Forensics.

What about the shooter's M.O.?

Franks says your new kid was a sniper.

He must be shedding some light.

He's... (CHUCKLES) Yeah.

Staunch opinions.

But, you know, he's like,

"Get mad, duke it out, move on."

Sounds like you.

Excuse me, miss, we need this area clear.

I'm just helping him with this.

You with the Coroner's Office?

No. I'm NIS.

All nonessential personnel need to leave the cordoned area.

J-Just let me...

Hey. Hey. Get off. Get off!

Hey, take it easy.

We've got it from here, miss.

You know what?

I hope you all have sand caught in your junk for days.

Not you, Dr. Tango, but the rest of you.

So, the task force is taking the Hewitt case files, then?

Yeah, but they can't stop us from doing our own digging.

- For crying out loud. - The only thing I got

from the hotel is that he had brown hair

and paid in cash.

The hell is that?

Where's my board at?

It got swiped by the Game Warden's Office.

I lifted this one from the mess hall.

You're trying to tell me

the board that I went to Office Depot

and bought with my own money's now got

koala bears on it?

There are no koala bears in this area, Mike.

It's not about the bears.

Koalas aren't actually even bears.

Damn it, Mary Jo!

You're welcome, honey.

When you make that copy of the Hewitt file

for the task force, that's about as fast

as you should move, all right? No faster than that.

Ugh. Curtis Martin.

21-year-old college student.

He was at the beach for the bonfire party.

- Elizabeth Adams. - Elizabeth Adams.

22, Martin's girlfriend.

Third victim was Dustin Cruz. He wasn't there for the party.

- He just happened to be walking by. So, to recap,

I talked to the families, you all just read my notes.

The hell's he been doing on the horn, for the past 25 minutes?

He's on with Forensics.

Woody said ballistics won't be done till next week.

So, what?

Probie's talking dirty to him

till he gets a different answer?

It doesn't make sense.

He kills Melanie Hewitt, and then he sets a fire to cover it up,

and then he goes, and shoots up a beach from a hotel window.

- Why hide and then go public? - (SIGHS)

Maybe the first one's practice, now he wants the glory.

What?

When I was looking out the sniper's hide,

I got a feeling.

Prelim and off-the-record,

Woody said that bullets from Martin and Adams were damaged.

Traces of glass fiber.

Martin and Adams were the ones shot at center mass.

Sniper wouldn't fire on a target through a window.

The glass would throw off the trajectory.

First two shots were to break the glass.

Lovebirds were collateral damage.

That's our real target.

His daddy said he walked the beach every night.

Sniper knew his routine.

Did he say he had any enemies?

Couldn't think of none. Said he was single, no kids,

he was a numbers guy that worked at some plant

that's been shut down for remodeling.

So... what's the connection?

Why would anybody want these two dead?

Have a think on it. Make it good.

Probie.

You get a gut feeling, you share it with the group.

Or you could try to prove it first

with Forensics and whatnot,

but that's a lot to sit on, ain't it?

Just 'cause you're scared of being wrong?

You and Dominguez, head to Melanie's

grandma's house first thing.

See if Melanie ever said anything

about this Dustin Cruz fella.

GIBBS (ECHOING): Don't you do it. Don't you dare.

Don't walk me to the door.

I know you hate watching me drive off.

Don't you do it. Don't you dare.

Don't you dare.

You're early.

Franks and Randy took a ride to Cruz's.

He was, uh, pretty into death metal,

existentially, but nothing to tell us

why he had a target on his back.

Nothing to connect him with Melanie.

We're waiting on a warrant to search the plant where he worked.

She's around back.

You stalked her before I got here?

Snipers are sneaky as hell, man.

You arrest Bugs?

No, ma'am.

Special Agent Dominguez.

I told you to arrest him.

Ma'am, did you see anything on the news

a couple nights ago about a shooting?

Happened on the beach?

TV blew out last Christmas.

Ms. Perez, Melanie was shot by a sniper.

You said it was a fire.

He set the fire after, we think to cover his tracks.