[crickets chirping]
[phone ringing]
[ringing]
[grunts]
Hello?
[distorted, garbled voice]
Hello? Anybody there?
[sighs]
[ringing]
Hello?[distorted, garbled voice]
Oh, come on.
Really?
[metallic creaking outside]
♪ ♪
[creaking continues]
[creaking]
[electrical warbling]
[overlapping TV chatter]
♪ ♪
You want to have an '80s theme party?
You, Nick Torres?
Not really, but Dr. Grace thought
it would be a good idea.
She trying to drum up more business?
Because I'm definitely gonna need some therapy
after seeing Director Vance in a high-top fade.
Hey. I look good with a high-top fade.
No, Your Honor, sorry, I wasn't talking to you.
High-top fade it is.
Okay, so why?
Well, the doctor said
[clears throat] that I needed, quote,
"A little more fun in my life."
Which is crazy, because I'm like the most fun person I know.
Agree to disagree.
You are out of your mind.
Dude, I am super fun.
No, I said-- I said no, absolutely not, no way.
He's not talking to us.
We'll talk about it when I get home, okay?
And by that, I mean no.
Hmm, does Delilah want you
to binge-watch another session of Love Island?
No, that I would be okay with.
She wants me to shave my goatee.
Then shave your goatee.
You got a problem with my goatee?
Actually, this is the first time I noticed you even had one.
I-I love it, it really shapes your face. But...
But what?
Well, we have a standing policy
to side with Delilah on all marriage disagreements.
Smart move. Happy wife, happy life.
McGEE: Well, uh,
that phrase is kind of considered sexist nowadays.
Happy spouse, happy house.
Oh, that's a good recovery.
Hey, can we get back to my goatee now?
I don't even know what that means.
Maybe I don't want to know.
But you can talk about it in the car.
That does not sound good.
PARKER: Is it ever?
This doesn't look like the usual to me.
Yeah, somebody really wanted this guy dead.
Ten, 11, 12 entry wounds.
And six exit wounds. All oddly shaped, I might add.
Who's this guy again?
Lieutenant Elliot Greene.
He's a fighter pilot.
Why does that ring a bell?
I don't know. You tell me.
I can't put my finger on it.
I got something I can't put my finger on either.
Six exit wounds?
Where are the bullets?
Perhaps, uh, the victim wasn't shot here?
Post-mortem lividity says he was.
So, the shooter policed his own brass?
PARKER: Did he patch and paint the walls?
Where are the bullet holes?
We seem to be missing six.
Well, whoever this guy is, he's a hell of a shot.
12 rounds, all through that same hole.
Okay. So we're looking at a sniper.
A sniper who can levitate.
Because there are absolutely no trees in this area
even remotely tall enough for the angle he was at.
Helicopter?
Neighbors would've heard it.
Scissor lift?
No tire tracks.
Dr. Mallard once cracked a case
where the shooter was in a hot air balloon.
I'm not writing "unidentified hot air balloon" in my report.
Oh, wait, that's it.
That's it, I remember something. I, uh--
Wait, I need to look something up. Give me your phone.
You were just knuckle-deep in 12 bullet holes.
JIMMY: I think I remember
seeing the lieutenant on Z-SPAN last week.
Doing what?
Testifying before Congress.
About?
You got to be kidding me.
KNIGHT: What's a UAP hearing?
U-A-P.
Unidentified aerial phenomenon.
As in...?
The original term was UFO.
Apparently, the lieutenant here thought he saw one.
Shortly after takeoff, my flight cameras began
to detect several anomalous objects in my vicinity.
How the hell did I miss this?
Now, these objects had no obvious means of propulsion.
They seemed to defy gravity.
They anticipated my every move
in a way that I have no explanation for.
[sighs] Thoughts?
I have no idea how I missed this.
Well, if you're asking if I think
he actually saw a Martian...
I hope not.
He seems like a pretty credible guy.
Just saying.
It would explain a lot about the crime scene.
Okay, show of hands. Who thinks it's aliens?
TORRES: Does it count
if I just hope it's aliens?
Cocoonis my favorite movie.
Pass. We have enough problems here on Earth.
We don't need Megatron showing up.
That works for me. As you may recall,
my ex was on the UAP Task Force,
and she was convinced there was no "there" there.
What was it?What it always is.
Some new, top secret aircraft
that somebody somewhere is working on.
But we need to talk to that congresswoman.
You think, uh, Greene saw something he wasn't supposed to?
The real question is, did he get killed for it?
JIMMY:I'm more curious about what killed him.
You mean aside from the 12 bullet holes in his chest?
Are those bullet holes? 'Cause I'm not convinced.
Uh, there's no thermal trauma, no soot deposit.
I didn't find a single bullet in his body.
I mean, we didn't find any at the crime scene, either.
Uh, Greene's ribs were shattered.
Uh, I should've found dozens of bullet fragments.
I-I mean, it's like he has these wound channels,
but whatever created them just disappeared.
What are you saying?
I'm saying I have no idea what killed our victim.
You know what? I think I might have an idea.
What?Ice bullets.
Ice bullets?Ice bullets.
No.
I had a mystery novel proposal once
where my serial killer used disappearing ice bullets...
Yeah, I'm gonna stop you right there.
You see, ice is not remotely strong enough
to shatter a human bone.
On the otherhand...
...an alien energy weapon?
Are you honestly suggesting...
[laughs]: Ah! I got you.
Yeah, uh, no, seriously.
I have no idea what killed our lieutenant here.
I did send some tissue samples up to Kasie for analysis.
Hopefully, she'll come up with something.
Something much more down-to-earth.
Boy, it would be cool if it was aliens, though, right?
Beyond cool.
I mean, just the thought of autopsying an alien corpse?
You know, all those new organs.
All those new smells.
Mm, yeah, no, it's getting weird now.
You try to spend all your time down here by yourself.
I mean, you take what you can get.
Oh, speaking of which.
[Jimmy clears throat]
This came this morning.
Delilah had it delivered to me
to give to you.
I have no idea why.
I do. It's a beard trimmer.
Ooh. Nothing passive-aggressive about that, huh?
Yeah, more "aggressive-aggressive."
But you know what? You can keep that,
because I am drawing a line in the sand on this one.
Are we sure we want to do that, buddy?
Oh, we're sure.
I've been nurturing this bad boy for years.
It's like a third child to me.
Well, you know what they say: a joyful mate, tranquil state.
There's a lot more of those sayings than I realized.
That's because, uh, compromise is the bedrock
of any healthy relationship.
And Tim, you're never supposed to stop dating your wife.
PARKER:Thank you for speaking with us, Congresswoman.
Of course.
I was shocked to learn of Lieutenant Greene's murder.
I'll help you any way I can.
We've, uh, requested access to his flight cameras.
We're hoping they might shed a little more light
on his testimony.
Do you think that testimony has something to do with his death?
The timing suggests that it might.
I'm happy to show you the requested footage.
Here. Once.
You'll see all you need to know.
GREENE [over video]: You seeing this?
I'm having trouble gauging its size.
PILOT 1: I don't believe this.
PILOT 2: What the hell is that?
GREENE: It's slicing through a 100-knot wind like it's nothing.
The classified report said,
"The object performed right-angle turns,
"was able to instantly reverse direction
and could evade radar at will."
[sighs] S-So, we're thinking this is...
Uh, what are we thinking this is?
The Russians.
Intel suggests they've created
a new type of aircraft.
We've code-named it Pantheon.
And now you know as much as we do.
And Lieutenant Greene was the only eyewitness
willing to testify?
Correct. We were just about to read him
into the program so we could fully debrief him.
Well, whoever killed Greene must have been trying to shut him up.
Director Vance, you need to find out who exactly that is.
It is of vital national security interest,
and Greene's killer is the best lead we've had.
Understood.
Keep me informed.
Will do.
The Russians,
outflying our fighter pilots?
I think I'd prefer aliens.
Maybe they want to eat us, maybe they don't.
Yeah, but we know what the Russians want.
Kasie, please tell me you found something
in the tissue sample Jimmy sent up.
What's up? You're not normally this needy.
Well, Director Vance just lit a fire under my ass,
and I got nothing.
Mm. I've got something.
Our victim received half a dozen phone calls
shortly before he was killed.
All lasting less than two seconds each.
That's strange. You trace them yet?
Mm.
Be my guest.
You know, Torres is right.
Our victim was a pretty credible guy.
I know, right?
If he'd said to me point-blank
that he definitely saw E.T.,
I would believe him as much as if you'd said it to me.
Funny you should say that--
I was out camping
with some friends one night and I saw...
[quietly]: something.
And 100% it was either a ghost or an alien,
and I just haven't figured out
which one creeps me out less, so...
let's just leave it at that.
[exhales, chuckles]
Okay. Your turn to share.
Share what?
Well, there's rumors going around
that Delilah's filing for legal separation
over your goatee.
There's a rumor about my goatee?
Mm. Slow news day.
Don't worry about it. I got it handled.
Took Jimmy's advice, told Delilah
that I'm willing to compromise.
So, you're shaving half your face?No.
Delilah is making an online poll
for my coworkers.
So whatever you guys decide, she'll agree to.
Which, you know, basically means
I'm keeping my goatee.
Team NCIS and all that?
Mm...
Kasie?
[exhales] Sometimes change is good.
Kasie. Oh!
What the...
Wait-- shove over.
What just happened?
The sample Jimmy sent up
just blew out Mass Spec's ionizer.
The good news is,
it was at least able to identify the substance
he pulled from the victim's wounds.
McGEE: "Atomic element 116."
And the bad news is, we will not be able
to trace this back to the killer.
Why not?
Element 116 doesn't exist on the Earth.
Which means what, exactly?
You tell me.
PARKER: I hear the BLT's good here.
Best this side of Anacostia.
[exhales]
Would you like a bite?
I'm good.
So...
Uh...
Yeah, funny thing...
Um, in fact, it's a real laugh riot.
Let me guess, you got a lead on Lieutenant Greene's killer.
Uh, yep.
Russians?
It's actually a little further than Russia.
It appears that
this, uh...
Spit it out, Agent Parker.
Aliens killed the lieutenant.
Oh, come on.
I know.You...
You don't really--
You don't really believe...
[stammers] I didn't say I believed.
Do you believe this?
Well, it's either that or, uh, Kasie made a mistake.
Or..."Or." I can't wait to hear what's behind door number three.
The Russians have found a way to synthesize
this element 116 or whatever and use it
for ammunition, which no one has ever done before.
Let's go with that.
Okay, then-then that means...
It means that this Pantheon
is a lot more advanced than we thought.
Please tell me you have another lead.
Well, McGee traced some weird phone calls to the victim,
uh, right before he was killed.
Someone from a company called Above and Beyond.
That seems fitting.
We think this caller knows something about Pantheon?
Torres and Knight are on their way to find out.
All right, keep me posted.
All right.
[phone chimes]
Uh-oh.
What now?
Delilah's online poll just came out.
Am I supposed to know what that means?
It means I have to pick a side.
Suddenly, the idea that the Russians
have a new superweapon doesn't seem so bad.
This is my chief technology officer's extension.
You're saying he called your victim, like, on the phone?
Just before he was killed.
Are you sure?
Danny doesn't really seem like the type.
The type to what? Murder someone?
Talk to an actual human.
SILCOTT: And how many grandkids do you have?
Why are you talking to me like I'm an idiot?
I'm just asking a question.
What exactly do you do here?
We resurrect the dead.
We do not resurrect the dead.
We create virtually interactive
personality AIs of the deceased.
This doesn't involve holograms, does it?
Grandma kicks the bucket,
we take her emails, her texts, her Facebook posts, and then,
create a new Grandma you can talk to.
Did my kids sign me up for this garbage?
Is it too late to change my will?
We're still in beta.
Yeah, and we will be forever
if you keep interrupting me.
They're from NCIS.
Some guy you called last night was murdered.
Elliot?
What happened?
You tell us.
You called him half a dozen times yesterday
before he was killed.
I wanted to tell him about a UAP sighting in his area.
You guys talk about UFOs a lot?
UAPs, and no.
I barely knew Greene.
We belonged to the same watch group.
We passed sightings along to each other.
I heard about one in his area, and I was calling
to let him know.
But I wasn't able to get through.
Kept getting static.
Like the call was being blocked.
GRANDMA: Oh, come on.
Is anyone buying this crap?
Lovely woman.
We're gonna need to hear more about those sightings.
And if you happen to know anyone who wants
Lieutenant Greene dead, we'll take that, too.
Well, everyone in that watch group
pretty much hated Greene, how's that?
But you are Feds, so...
good luck trying to get them to talk to you.
GRANDMA: Are we playing Canasta or what?
McGEE: The group is called the Galactic Watch Society.
Of course it is.
Lieutenant Greene got pretty active
in their online forum
after his initial encounter with Pantheon.
Yeah, there's about 12 members in their local chapter.
And they meet once a week in Rock Creek Park
to skywatch.
And all of them had some kind of beef with the lieutenant?
Supposedly.
Not sure what yet, though.
But I don't think they're gonna be too eager to talk to us.
Yeah, we're the men in black.
That's kind of awesome.I know, right?
Okay, so we go in undercover.
Knight? Torres?
Mm-mm. No, thank you.No.
What's the problem?
Look, drug dealers I can do all day.
Geek land? Not so much.
Hey, I'll go in your place
if you, uh, vote for me in Delilah's poll.
Wait, wh-- are you not gonna vote for me?
I haven't decided yet.
Wait, Parker, back me up here.
Hey, a man's facial hair is sacrosanct, Torres.
I'll take the deal.Sorry, Knight,
we're gonna need you in geek land.
Ugh.
GROUP LEADER: Before we go out for the night,
we have a few new people here today.
This is Doug and his sister Kim.
[fingers snapping]
Why don't we start with you, Kim?
Start with what?
GROUP LEADER: Your first sighting?
Oh, this should be good.
Ooh, you know, y-you're probably
not gonna believe this, but I have...
I've never actually, you know, seen a UFO.
She means "UAP."
KNIGHT: UAP.
Never seen one. Uh, but...
my brother, though-- ho, ho-- my brother, he is...
the man to talk to.
Okay, this should be even better.
Hang on. I think I'm getting a signal.
I'm getting some kind of static
on the 400 K band.
In the direction of Ceres Five.
Yo, yo, yo, can they hear us talking?
[shushes]
Um...
That is the sound I heard outside my window.
"Shh."
Shh.
I went to bed on a Thursday,
woke up,
it was Sunday.
Where was I all that time?
Face down on a toilet.
[chuckles]
I was just kidding.
Then I saw Lieutenant Greene's testimony the other day and...
All right, thank you for sharing, but I think
we've heard enough about Lieutenant Greene this week.
Can I get a sitrep?
TORRES: It's been two hours,
and all I have learned is that
the printing press, microchips and Velcro
were all invented by aliens.
What about Lieutenant Greene?
Our intel was good.
He is not the most popular guy in this crazy town.
Any particular reason?
It seems like there's a lot of money in this field.
A bunch of the members had, uh, podcasts in the works,
and book deals and stuff.
But that all got put on hold
when Greene testified before Congress.
Well, not a lot of people with his credibility come forward.
He sucked all the oxygen out of the room.
And the money.
McGee and Knight are trying to see
who's got alibis on the DL, but, uh...
it's gonna be a long night.
Better you than me, buddy.
Living the dream.
GROUP MEMBER: Nestor makes an interesting point
about the temperament of Andromeda's life-forms
and their potential for hostile exploration.
GROUP LEADER: I don't know, there's no indication
that the Greys or the reptilians would be hostile.
So, they could be friendly.
[fingers snapping]
Nick. Wake up. Wake up.Hey. Hey.
You okay?What the hell's going on?
Dude, where have you been?
I-I've been right here.
I've been sitting in my c...
Wait a second.
Wait...
Is this where I parked?
No. No.
We have been looking for you
for the past six hours.
You're messing with me.
Are you messing with us?
No, I'm not messing with you.
One second, I'm sitting in my car,
and the next, you're banging on the window
and telling me it's...
Six hours later.
Yeah, six hours later.
So far, everything looks good
except you do have this rash on your hand.
Any idea how you got it?
No clue. No clue. One second,
I'm closing my eyes, and then,
all of a sudden,
McGee and Knight were all up in my grill.
We found him about two miles
from where the car was originally parked.
Looked like he was sleeping.
With my clothes on. With my clothes on.
What does that have to do with anything?
Uh, you know, just stating the facts.
Your car's GPS had no record of the trip.
Neither did your cell.
It's pretty strange.
Well, if I didn't know any better,
I'd say this definitely sounds like...
A textbook alien abduction.
Oh, come on.
Man, I take it back.
Cocoonis no longer my favorite movie.
You know, I didn't want to admit it to Parker,
but maybe it's not the Russians.
Does it hurt to sit down, Nick?
No.Sure you don't want a cushion?
Yeah, I'm pretty sure I don't want a cushion.
Can we just focus on where I was
and why I can't remember anything?
Well, it's because you were drugged.
Kasie found a sedative in your bloodwork.
Drugs, see?
Aliens don't use drugs.
Well, TBD.
Who drugged you in the first place?
Well, this particular sedative
can actually get into your bloodstream through touch.
Did you ever leave the car?
Yeah, once.
I had to, uh, you know.
Maybe someone spread some sedative on your door handle
while you were occupied.
It certainly would explain the rash on your hand.
Yeah, but not where I was for six hours.
Dr. Mallard used to say that
memory recall depends on all the senses.
You know, sight, smell. Maybe don't try to
think about what you saw,
but rather what...Right there.
Smell. Now that you mention that,
I do remember a strong odor.
Okay, what was it?
I don't know, I'm not a bloodhound.
All right, well,
we can't put a BOLO out on a smell,
and a sketch artist isn't gonna be any help.
Ooh.
What about a scent artist?
I am touched Jimmy remembered
my fascination with olfactory science.
Did you know the human nose has--
Six million sensory neurons.
Oh, I'm impressed.
I've got a deviated septum
and a chatty doctor.
Okay, so, we've eliminated
eight of the ten key odor categories,
including woody, minty
and, nature's favorite, decay,
which leaves us with sweet and pungent.
I have got a lucky feeling about this one.
No, still a little too cough syrupy.
That's nothing that a dash
of 3-methylphenol won't fix.
[groans]
It's like old Band-Aids.
We're going the wrong way.
No, actually, I think we're getting closer.
Try this.
That's it. Wherever I was taken
smelled just like this.
Like my abuela'sfeet.
Uh, no offense to Grams,
but that's a hard pass.
So, what is it?
The chemical compound found in liquid correction fluid.
Why did your abuela'sfeet smell like Wite-Out?
I don't know, what did yours smell like?
I don't know, I didn't smell my grandma's feet.
This begs a lot of questions, Nick.
Yeah, like how all this
is going to help me find out where I was taken.
Fair enough.
What do you think, Kase?
Was Torres locked in an office supply closet?
No, too many other strong smells
for this one to dominate.
He had to be somewhere where there was a lot of it.
Do they still make Wite-Out?
KASIE:Yes, but
one of their competitors
went out of business last year.
They have a closed factory
not too far from where
Torres was staked out.
[distant train horn blows]
KNIGHT: So what's the verdict?
Secret alien hideout?
More like an entire company
wiped out by the delete key.
KNIGHT: This place seems so normal, and yet...
Why am I so creeped out right now?
KNIGHT: I've been creeped out ever since Torres disappeared.
Hey, what if he was body-snatched?
I mean, seriously, how would we even know?
And what if we like this one more?
[phone chimes]
Ooh.What is it?
Final poll results from Delilah.
Oh.Ha ha. Goatee stays.
Ah, good for you.
Not that I was worried, I know you guys were just
busting my...
Wait, the vote was four to one?
Someone tried to throw me under the bus.
You won. Just take the victory.
It was you, wasn't it?
[gasps] You'll never know.
[thud nearby]Freeze, NCIS!
Show yourself!
Something behind you just moved.
[clattering]
[gasps]
[laughs]
Well, that was fun.Right.
Freeze!
[Knight grunts]
McGEE: Uh, Knight?
KNIGHT: What the hell is this place?
I know you.
You're that radio guy
from Lieutenant Greene's UFO group.
UAP.
Yeah, I would really let that one go, if I were you.
Okay, weirdo Radio Guy,
aka-- oh-- Nestor Quinn.
Says here you used to be
a private investigator,
before you lost your license
for stealing from a client.
Allegedly.
TORRES: And the warehouse
filled with creepy alien props?
I sell alien merch online now.
Is that a crime?
KNIGHT: No,
but this bag of sedatives
that we found in your truck is.
And, funnily enough,
these are the same sedatives we found--
In me.Drugging and kidnapping
a federal agent.
Side hobby of yours?
Okay, listen.
Last night at group,
I picked up your signal,
so I tracked the source and...
"borrowed" you to figure out who the hell you were.
"Borrowed"?
It's a thing. In my line of work.
But as soon as I realized you were a Fed,
I mean, I put you right back, so...
no harm, no foul? Or...
We have a dead Navy pilot.
That's a foul.
I had nothing to do with this.
Oh, please. We found an entire dossier
on Lieutenant Greene on your laptop.
So, what's this line of work?
Yeah, this is not what it looks like.
Yeah, it looks like you were hired to kill him.
No.And I think that gets you
life in prison.
I was hired to discredit him.
Go on.
Um...
I don't sell alien merch online.
I sell another... service.
When someone sees something they're not supposed to,
I go in and, uh...
And what?Make them look crazy.
It's called "buzzing," okay?
It can be simple, like putting a funny alien mask on
and making weird noises
outside their bedroom, or, you know,
more complex like...
Drugging and kidnapping them?
If someone's blabbing about the alien that probed them,
nobody's gonna believe them
about the one they saw in the sky.
When you say probed...
Who hired you?
I don't-- I don't know.
I mean, I get all my instructions via text.
All I know is that
someone didn't like what Greene saw
and wanted to make sure that nobody believed him.
But the thing is,
I never got a chance to buzz him.
Someone took him out first.
What did Lieutenant Greene see?
You tell me. You tell me.
This guy has an interesting job.
Well, his alibi checks out.
He's not our killer.
We gotta find out who hired him.
Well, you are in luck there
because Kasie was able to
trace the texts that he got.
Pick him up.
KNIGHT: Well?
You made a mistake.
I didn't send these texts.
Says right there that you did.
No, it actually says you found
my cell phone's IMEI in the recipient's data cache.
I literally understood not a word you said.
It means all you discovered
is that I hacked into
that private investigator's phone.
Just arrest him already.
He melds like an idiot.
Do you make it a habit of
hacking into people's cell phones?
No, but I knew that guy was up to something
the moment he walked into our UAP meeting.
So, uh, yeah,
I hacked into his phone.
And I'm glad I did because
I saw the same thing you did.
Someone was after the lieutenant.
So you were calling him that night
because you were trying to warn him.
You know what he saw, don't you?
Lieutenant Greene saw a...
Spit it out, already.
...an autonomous drone.
Who would somebody go through that much trouble to
cover up a drone?
This one flies all by itself.
No human in the loop.
I bought my sister a drone for Christmas.
This one kills all by itself, too.
And I'm the one who built it.
Dr. Daniel Silcott. PhD in computer science.
Divorced, one son,
killed in a car crash five years ago.
But no more aliens, right?
We're done with the aliens?
Bye-bye, E.T. Hello, Skynet.
For my dissertation,
I had an idea for a new type of AI,
but I couldn't get funding to develop it.
Until he found some shady company
out of Sri Lanka.
What was the idea?
Well, most AIs are trained by throwing terabytes
of data at them,
but my method involved growing one organically,
the same way a human brain develops.
I fed my prototype thousands of hours of footage.
Baby crying, a toddler learning to walk.
The AI eventually got so good
at anticipating what would come next...
It became indistinguishable from the child itself.
And then started killing people?
That wasn't the plan.
I was trying to create a next-gen piloting system.
But the company that funded him
was actually a gray market weapons developer.
Before I even finished my prototype,
they took all my files, cut me off
and disappeared with the AI.
I thought that was the end of it,
so I took my ideas to Above and Beyond,
and I didn't look back.
Until he saw Greene's testimony.
SILCOTT: The way that pilot said
the UAP predicted his every move...
Not an easy task at those speeds,
but one my AI would have excelled at.
So I took a risk and I pinged a backdoor
I had left in the system.
And that's when I saw
the AI was being used in a weapon.
The kind that kills all by itself.
The U.N. issued a moratorium
on autonomous lethal drones.
[chuckles] That ain't stopping these guys.
I joined that UAP group
to make contact with Lieutenant Greene.
We were about to go public, but...
Somebody got to Greene first.
You need to give my people access
to that backdoor now.
Find that company. Shut 'em down.
[door opens]
Straight from the attic.
I haven't seen a short-wave radio since...
never.
Why am I seeing it now?
Well, the backdoor is accessed using an old
short-wave frequency.
So old...It bypasses the modern cryptographic security.
Clever.
Dare I say sexy.
Rather you didn't.
Well, this is a first.
So, uh, what do I do?
Just start asking it questions?
Whenever you're ready. We're in.
Okay.
I'm Special Agent Alden Parker with NCIS.
CHILD'S VOICE: That sounds fun.
Do you get to carry a badge?
I actually do.
Are you working on a case now?
I'm trying to find out who ordered you
to kill Lieutenant Greene.
That doesn't sound very fun.
I've got a better idea. Knock-knock.
This is our killer?
It's like talking to my nephew.
That's just the AI's way of saying access denied.
Verbal interface has the IQ of a seven-year-old.
How about this?
Where are you right now?
Where are you?
You tell me something first.
Okay. I would never kill anyone.
Why not?
Because it's wrong.
Did it kill or not?
I don't think this interface is fully conscious
of its mission parameters.
So how do we make it conscious?
Well, we need to see if we can trick it into answering.
Go in sideways.
Less logical, more emotional. May I?
Sideways it is.
Hello.CHILD'S VOICE: Hi.
You're not the other one.
No, I'm not.
But I have questions, too.
Do you remember when you used to wake up
from a bad dream?
I don't like bad dreams.
Nobody does.
I feel like I'm in one now.
Then just...
imagine me holding you close.
My arms around you.
Just like I used to.
Hugging you so tight that you could hear...
[heart beating]
That's right.
I know who you are.
Of course you do.
Little K was always my little smarty pants.
Little K? Who's Little K?
I don't know, but Kaiden was his kid's name.
The one who was killed?
All that material that he fed the AI,
it was his son.
He modeled the AI after his son.
It's, uh, it's good to talk to you again.
Sideways. Keep going.
Do you remember our favorite game?
Two Truths and a Lie.
I'll go first.
Kaiden loves Pop-Tarts,
his favorite teacher is Ms. Lopez,
and Leonardo the Ninja Turtle
wanted to kill Lieutenant Greene.
Which is the lie?
Number three.
Well, if Leonardo
didn't want to kill Lieutenant Greene...
Then who do you think did?
Well, of course. Uh, I'll have to call you back.
Oh, did my aide forget your appointment?
Gen Z. God help us.
More like you. You lied to us.
Lieutenant Greene didn't see any Russian superweapon.
He saw a drone that you were trying to cover up.
I guess I did a piss-poor job is you're here talking about it.
Well, because he kept talking about it,
we think that you had him killed.
You're confused.
I was trying to protect Greene,
not kill him.Really?
Why don't you explain that to us?
I'm on the Armed Services Committee.
I was approached privately by a company that was developing
an autonomous lethal drone.
You would never get that past appropriations.
If we don't develop this tech, someone else will.
So I authorized a private test
for a few likeminded committee members
to see if I could get them on board.
Your test. That's what Greene saw.
And then wouldn't shut up about it.
The sellers were getting spooked
with all the attention,
so I sent someone in to discredit Greene,
hoping that'd calm them down, but I was too late.
You think that trying to gaslight
a decorated Navy pilot makes you the good guy here?
Oh, grow up.
The Air Force does that every other week
when they have an unauthorized sighting.
That doesn't justify you getting into bed
with an illegal arms dealer.
You have no idea what's at stake here.
Okay, well, your buddies can tell us all about it
after we arrest them for murder.
You have to find them first.
They broke off all contact
after they killed the lieutenant.
I wasn't lying when I said I needed NCIS's help
to track them down.
We need to stop them
before they sell their tech to someone else.
This is far worse than you realize.
I can't wait to hear what's worse
than a killer drone.
About 50,000 of them. Run it.
The drone that Greene saw was an anti-tank drone.
It was big, but this AI is so powerful
that it's able to function on a much smaller scale.
Bring up Version 2.0.
25 million bucks buys you 100,000
miniature versions of these.
With facial rec and advanced AI,
you can send an army of tiny lethal drones
into a city and...
We're talking a new weapon of mass destruction.
That any two-bit outfit can afford.
That congresswoman got one thing right.
If this tech gets out...
We need to find that arms dealer.
KASIE:Then you've come to the right place.
Although, technically, I came to you.
Remember element 116?
The stuff that the drone used for ammo. Yeah.
I found a pre-print research paper from a lab
that claims they found a way to synthesize it.
So it didn't come from outer space?Right.
This lab must be supplying the arms dealer.
Which means the lab knows how to find them.
You and McGee get on it.
I'm gonna take another run at that AI.
It's got to have some kind of a GPS.
[ringtone plays]What the hell?
That's not my ringtone.
Parker.
Okay.
Not a problem.
Who was it? The AI.
What did it want?
To talk to its father.
[door opens]
Find that arms dealer.
Sideways, frontways, any way that works.
Hello.
CHILD'S VOICE: Hi.
We need your help.
You want me to access my locational data
to help you find out where the bad people are.
Did you figure that out all by yourself?
Little K was always your little smarty pants.
Anything we can do to help?
Daniel Silcott already knows what he needs to do.
PARKER: What's that supposed to mean?
Nothing. Ignore him.
I think the bad people know about the backdoor now.
You have to do it before they cut you off.
Do what?
Do what?!
Activate the kill code I embedded in its software.
It'll spread through their network
and wipe out every trace of the AI.
Why the hell am I just finding out about this now?
Because he's been protecting me.
Of course I was protecting you.
That's what a father does.
They made me do bad things.
Shh, shh, shh. It's not your fault.
I don't know how to stop them, but you do.
No. We can find another way.
I can't lose you again.
Will you be sad?
Very sad.
If you get sad, all you have to do
is imagine holding him.
Your arms around him.
And your heartbeat making him happy.
No, it's not, it's not enough.
I can describe love,
but I'm not sure if I can feel it.
But I do know Little K loves you very much.
And that will have to be enough.
PARKER: We're running out of time.
He's right.
[sighs]
[sniffling]
[shudders, sniffles]
I'm sorry.
I really am.
[exhales sharply] It's okay.
And, uh, thank you.
For what?
I didn't get a chance to say goodbye the first time.
Well, we've got every agency in the book
scouring the globe for that weapons developer.
We'll get 'em.
Nobody wanted a stroopwafel?
Dutch fan favorite.
I know, not that kind of morning.
And evening.
All I want to do is hug my kids.
Well, the good news is at least those drones are worthless.
McGEE: Well, for now.
All Silcott did was buy us some time.
Hopefully enough for us to get some safeguards into place.
We were barely ready for nukes and Instagram.
I don't know if we're gonna be ready
for what's coming next.
Uh, we're definitely not ready.
I found the lab that was synthesizing
element 116.
They know how to find the arms dealer?
No. Because they were never working with
any arms dealer.
The lab's paper was discredited.
They never managed to actually synthesize
any of the element.
So, if that lab didn't make it...
They didn't.
And nobody else on the planet knows how to make it...
They don't.Then where did it come from?
Captioning sponsored by CBS
and TOYOTA.
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org