NCIS: Los Angeles

Lemon drop?

Not really my thing, but, uh,

keep 'em coming for everybody else.

You know, if you ever get tired of these downtown party ho's,

I'm around.

Whoa! I didn't think the Marines made that much.

You're not from here, are you?

Seattle. How'd you know?

L.A. girls never ask where the money comes from.

Gonna take a lap.

Catch ya, Amy.

Hi!

Hey!

Yo, B.

What's up, Alex?

Top of the world, dawg.

What's up?

Brandon Valdivia.

No way.

It's not true.

Where's Brandon?

Is this an argument?

No, it's a difference of opinion.

I happen to be right, you happen to be wrong.

Which makes it an argument.

And for the record-- I'm right, you're wrong.

Operators are made, they're not born, G.

Skills can be taught.

Mm-hmm. Hey, what was, what was that guy's name?

Uh, Swishman?

Fishman? Swisher.

Swisher. Chuck Swisher.

Chuck Swisher. Used to sit and study the ops

manual in the UC van. Yeah.

He knew regulation book backwards and forwards.

Terrible operator. Yeah.

Who used to overcompensate for his lack of undercover skill

by knowing everything about surveillance.

But that doesn't make him a bad agent.

Teachers learn to be teachers. Cops learn to be cops.

Mm-hmm, and somebody taught LeBron how to dunk from the free throw line.

SEALs learn to be SEALs, G.

Oh, that's right, you couldn't swim

when you enlisted, could you?

How long did they let you wear the floaties?

Look, I will take a lazy natural operator

over an all-night studier any day of the week.

It's too late. I already did it.

Hmm.

Nature versus nurture-- quite the conundrum.

You cannot use the word "conundrum" before 9:30, Hetty.

9:31, which means, Mr. Callen, you're late.

So are you, Mr. Hanna.

Late for what?

Corporal Brandon Valdivia-- 25, single--

went off the roof of the downtown Apex last night.

Valdivia was stationed

at a supply unit at Camp Pendleton.

He just returned from a deployment

in Iraq three months ago.

Diagnosed PTSD,

possible suicidal ideation, anxiety disorder.

And because of his mental health history,

LAPD has already ruled it a suicide.

And we're investigating because...?

Valdivia's family

is tight with their congressman.

The congressman calls SecNav.

SecNav calls the commandant of the Marine Corps,

who calls Director Vance.

It's the proverbial "Pentagon Shuffle."

Downtown Apex is a high-end party spot.

They mix a meaningful mojito.

They have the most

marvelous pool on the roof.

It stays open all night, and it's kept

at a balmy 92 degrees.

Have you people never heard of a "staycation"?

Did Valdivia have any kind of record--

in the service or out?

No, not even a parking ticket.

Did he have a room at the Apex?

No, but I got a hit

on some turn-on service notices

for gas and electric.

The social security number

matches Valdivia's.

Looks like he had an off-base apartment.

Culver City.

What's he doing with an apartment

90 miles from Pendleton?

Certainly not taking a staycation.

So you think Hetty was born or made?

Hatched.

How long we been working together, G?

Two years. Three, next month.

And the longest you ever had the same partner was...?

Your point? My point is

we complement each other because I'm a natural... I'm natural

and you're made-- I get it. No, no, I'm the natural operator.

Right. Well, if you're natural,

then I'm supernatural.

That doesn't even make sense.

Let's see if Valdivia left anything for us.

Clear.

Clear.

Hmm. ESPN.

Military Channel.

Ooh-rah.

I win.

Beer and mustard.

You sure you don't live here?

Meaningless sex with an endless

stream of beautiful women-- hmm!

How empty.

This guy look depressed to you?

No suicide note.

It's like a post office in here.

What do you think this guy was sending?

Guitar Hero?

What?

Receipts for the last two weeks

for 20, 40, 60, 80...

160 copies of Guitar Hero.

All paid for in cash.

A bunch of mom-and-pop shops.

Two and three at a time.

Why buy multiple copies of a video game?

'Cause it kicks major ass. I'll tell you one thing,

this guy, Valdivia, was overpaying big time.

So, basically, we've got a dead Marine

with no skill at volume buying.

Oh, ye of little faith.

We've got receipts.

Ever play Guitar Hero?

Mm-mm. I prefer the real thing.

Django Reinhardt, Gabor Szabo--

a little Hendrix thrown in for good measure.

Dominic Vail, I am liking you more and more every day.

Speaking of video games...

Brandon Valdivia went off the roof here

and landed here,

227 feet down.

Now, normally, determining cause of death

in a high fall is all about launch speed.

This one is more about angle and placement.

Valdivia landed on his back,

relatively close to the building.

Arms spread, in what's known

as the "upturned crucifix" position.

That's a long way down.

His body could've flipped over during the fall.

Unlikely. But not impossible.

Also, he had a broken jaw.

From the fall? Not if he landed on his back.

And there was no bruising on the face,

which indicates that the break was fresh.

He was punched. Brandon Valdivia

was unconscious before he even went over the rail.

All right, so someone

knocked him out with a shot to the jaw

and they threw him backwards off the roof.

Our suicide just became a murder.

It'd take someone pretty strong

to throw a 200-pound Marine off the side.

Eric, I got one camera up on the roof.

I'm on it.

It's even better at night.

Most things are.

I'm the events coordinator for the hotel.

Callen. Special Agent Kensi Blye.

Did you know Brandon Valdivia?

Everybody knew Brandon.

It's so sad.

Was he a guest at a lot of these parties?

Guest? He was the host.

For the last three Saturday nights,

Brandon paid for everything.

How much are we talking? Open bar,

hors d'oeuvres, tray-passed shots...

This week, $27,000 in cash.

That didn't surprise you?

Who questions cash?

Don't ask, don't tell.

Amy was his waitress.

I'll be right back.

You waited on Brandon Valdivia last night?

He wasn't drinking.

Did you see him with anyone in particular?

Just this guy he always hung with.

Alex, I think.

I don't know his last name. You ever see

Brandon and Alex ever get into it or anything?

Fight? No.

They loved it here, especially Alex.

You know, all you meet in this job

is Eurotrash and wannabe actors.

Brandon was different.

He actually cared about who I was, where I was from.

He had a lot of money, but mostly he seemed