NCIS: Sydney

AFP have made a P-35 request.

What's a P-35?

Hard copy application. No more lies.

Incoming!

My name is Rashid Rahmati

and I have evidence of an American war crime.

I took orders from a man

they called Ghost.

He walked through the rubble, executing the survivors.

I used one of the Australians' body cams to record it.

I know the Marine Corps tried to end you.

There's folks out there looking for any excuse

to finish what they started.

The targets.

Whoever The Ghost was working for

was covering their tracks.

You've reached Travis Riggs. Please leave a message.

Beep!

Uh, yeah, she's right here.

Um, yeah.

It's for you. Sounds important.

Mackey.

Early bird eats the worm.

Not that you eat worms.

Or have worms.

-Okay. -Sorry, you wanted to see me?

Yeah, I want to get your application off to AFP today,

get it sorted.

Mm-hm.

Trouble is I can't seem to find

your tertiary qualifications.

Ah, ye olde tertiary qualifications.

Yeah, I thought I was looking in the wrong section,

but your bachelor of science, your computer science degree,

your PhD in IT and forensic science.

I just need the certified copies.

Yeah.

Okay.

JD, you know how you said for me to be...

full, accurate and honest?

-Yeah. -Yeah.

Well, I have been.

Right.

Right.

So in regards to your qualifications

for your role at NCIS, you have...

-Zero. -Zero.

I mean, it's not like I didn't do the work. I did, you know?

I got straight HDs.

Um, I won the University Medal, twice.

-You did? -Yeah, just... for other people.

Why would you do that, Blue?!

I don't know. They offered to pay me.

Kiddo, what are...

Back on the books yet, Blue?

Ah, yeah, book adjacent.

Just crossing the 'T's and dotting the 'I's.

Okay, it'll have to wait.

We've got a situation at a movie theater.

-We'll pick this up later, yeah? -Yep.

What's the holdup with Blue?

You know what the AFP application process is like.

No, that's why I'm asking.

Well, it's a long application.

It's like War and Peacelong.

-Have you read it? ...War and Peace? -No.

Blue's application? Yeah, of course.

And?

And, well, it's a cracker.

She's being super thorough.

-And honest? -To a fault.

Okay, good.

The sooner we get it sorted, the sooner we can find

a forever home for your stray bomb tech.

-Ooh! -Mm!

Yeah, if you're wondering about the, uh, aroma,

let me introduce Lieutenant Felix Ebrahimi.

Oh. Ugh.

Besides what he ate for dinner, what do we know?

Naval attaché based out of the US Consulate, Sydney.

Cleaners found him this morning.

Last seen alive by the usher at the 10pm screening last night.

Mm, that fits with rigor mortis.

The old boy's starting to, uh, stiffen up.

Who brings popcorn into the stall?

Yeah, lid's down, pants up. What does that tell us?

He wasn't dropping the kids off at the pool, was he?

So what's the next most popular reason to visit a public toilet?

Anonymous sex.

Quick on the draw there, Rosie.

How about the next most popular?

Uh, drug deal gone bad?

Beats being murdered for popcorn.

Psh! Wasn't even his popcorn, according to the movie usher.

He only sold two tickets that session,

one to our dead attaché and one to the dude that came late,

guy that bought the popcorn.

So popcorn guy murders the attaché?

Maybe. But there was a third man.

You said only two tickets were sold.

Because the third man snuck into the movie without paying.

The third man could be a player in all this too.

I swear to God, D, you say "third man" one more time...

Oh, come on, Evie. Seriously?

The Third Man? Sneaking into a noir movie?

Did the usher get us an ID on either?

Yeah, sure.

Thank you.

Okay, here's his description of the first guy.

"Olive-skinned, male, kinda old."

Want to hear his take on the second guy?

Yeah.

"Olive-skinned, male, kinda old."

Useful.

Okay, right, just call me if anything changes. Thanks.

-What have you got, Doc? -Ooh, salted caramel.

You want a bite?

Uh, well, the first stab wound

punctured your attaché's heart, likely what killed him.

But then, of course, your killer,

you know, he didn't stop there, did he?

-So after killing him, he... -Gutted him. Like a fish.

Now, the question is why.

Boss, you're not going to believe this.

So, checked Felix's file.

NCIS had a 7N investigation into him.

7N? That's narcotics.

Popped up on his friend's socials six months ago.

Felix was a US Naval attaché. How does he still have a job?

-Because NCIS cleared him. -Someone's getting fired.

Felix had top-level clearances vetted three ways to Sunday.

The photo's a fake. You know that.

So who faked it? And why?

Well, his family fled to the US 40 years ago.

I'd start there.

But you knew that too.

You want to tell me why you're really here?

Here.

Someone's having a bad day.

-Who am I looking at? -I was hoping you could tell me.

We're thinking he's American.

Call sign Ghost.

-Any idea what he was after? -Two things.

An SD card with footage of a rocket strike

on an Afghan village hosting a ton of heroin.

And the second?

I watched him expertly nick a woman's femoral artery,

to break up his tail.

Led me into a kill box.

The guy was hunting me.

Scroll on.

It's a kill list.

I need a name.

Asking about someone like this

is likely to send up a few flares.

I've made a copy of the SD card.

I need you to make it clear

that anything happens to me...

the footage goes viral.

Strong play, Agent Mackey.

I hope you know what you're doing.

There were four fingerprints found on the box of popcorn -

the usher, Felix and two others.

But one was a partial, no hits.

But the last one pinged on a biometric database

for Sydney Airport.

Say hello to Ali Azad.

Arrived in town on Tuesday.

-Let's talk to him. -That's gonna be tough.

Ali hasn't been seen at the hotel

since the day of the murder.

Sounds like he's gone to ground.

Nice of you to join us.

What's Ali doing in the country?

He flew in with his daughter,

Rana Azad, an up-and-coming chess baller.

This is live.

Wait, you have a live chess feed on your phone?

A new low for you.

Rana's playing in the Australasian

International Chess Championship.

She's playing in Sydney?

Currently smoking out all the old grandmasters.

Her dad's her coach and a famous chess composer.

Chess composer?

People who create chess problems.

Dad's the coach, he's gonna be there.

What are you waiting for? Go.

Now, a piece of the blade snapped off

and became lodged in his ribs.

That indicates a knife of some sort.

Now, you have a look.

So if we find the damaged knife, could we match it?

Ohhh, don't look at me.

No, you'd need a forensic expert for that level of detail.

You know, someone with a PhD in forensic science, for example.

Okay, Rosie, we get the point.

Well, I mean, I could take a punt,

but I'd just be talking out the back of my arse,

because I'm not a forensic scientist.