At NCIS they’re talking dirty.
Is it my imagination or are things at NCIS getting a bit hot? Whew. There were some very intense looks exchanged in “Masquerade.”
Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs has attorney M. Allison Hart in his face again. That’s very noticeable later in the episode. She calls him MISTER Gibbs. (That makes me think of In The Heat Of The Night, 1967, Sidney Poitier, ‘They call me MISTER Tibbs!’) Tony DiNozzo would understand.
DiNozzo and Ziva David come walking into the squad room talking of tap dancing. They came in together. They probably just met in the parking lot at the same time, its not as if they had breakfast together.
Ziva told Tony that she went to a party for ‘International Talk Like A Pirate’ day. It’s September 19 in case you’d like to throw a party of your own. Tony is getting ready for ‘National Tap Dance Day’ on May 25. He’s been invited to a party.
That isn’t the only sharing they do during the case.
While investigating an abandoned warehouse Ziva talks of America being held to a higher standard. She finally opens up a little about what happened in Somalia. Tony encourages her to talk about it. It’s clear that the experience is the stuff of her nightmares. But she uses the moment to make her point that those without scruples justify their actions by posing that they’re defending their way of life.
Ziva closes down again but is very close to Tony when she finishes the little she has to say of her experience. They look directly at one another.
I liked the game they were playing when they arrived at the warehouse. Tony would say ‘gun battle’ and Ziva would counter with the person that best fit the clue. Gibbs was the answer. Seems Ziva is loosening up. Would the old Ziva have gone to get popcorn to watch an interrogation with Tony and McGee?
The case revolves around a group of Peruvian freedom fighters that have stolen radioactive material to create as many as five dirty bombs. This is the counterpoint to the U.S. Senate preparing to vote on a bill that would give millions to defense contractors. As Director Leon Vance told Gibbs, it didn’t seem that necessary yesterday before the bomb scare. Now the bill might go through.
The information about the group ‘Libertad Nueva’ (New Liberty) came to NCIS through a private intelligence firm. Walter Kane heads the firm and is convinced that a dead Marine Lance Corporal Ramon Vega is the mastermind after tracking his many trips to Lima.
The bombs aren’t powerful but the panic they cause is. It’s serious when people die trying to flee the city.
Gibbs has a lead, the younger brother of Vega who was killed when his car blew up while transporting radioactive materials in the trunk. The interior of the car had all the makings for a dirty bomb. Fortunately, the amount of radioactive material was so small it didn’t affect any of Gibbs’ team. Tony’s little DiNozzo’s were safe.
“Masquerade” was well named. The plot twisted and turned as suspect after suspect is eliminated. Through it all is Hart blocking Gibbs’ investigation once again. Hart has ties to Colonel Merton Bell who is a retired tank commander and is now a private military contractor.
Seems to keep coming back to military contracts, doesn’t it? Not that I’m suspicious or anything but where is this leading? Vance says that the defense bill is terrible. It has a lot of pork for military contractors. It had no chance of passing until the threats of dirty bombs were reported on the television news.
How did the news media get the information? Someone had to be leaking it.
A dentist puts the team onto where the radioactive cobalt 60 is coming from. Their x-ray machines were all stolen. When the dentist goes missing McGee checks out his website and a picture of a bus station appears. The team goes to the bus terminal. Gibbs and McGee find the bomb and Gibbs snips the wire. Turns out it should have gone off anyway but the chemicals were mixed poorly.
Vega isn’t dead and he gives Gibbs information that proves he wasn’t involved but was set up. The man who recruited him had Department Of Defense credentials. This fellow identified as John Cook was the body found in the exploded car. He’s not the only dead lead. The dentist was found under a bridge with a confession. As Ziva said it was too neat.
Kane is brought back in and Vance and Gibbs accuse him of setting up the bombs and blaming ‘Libertad Nueva’. They have found the website for the group which is run by a 13-year-old kid. With the bill passing Kane’s firm stood to gain millions of dollars. Ziva brings in the evidence that Kane was responsible for the bombs and covered it up with murder and misdirection.
Gibbs goes home and finds Ms. Hart sitting on his couch. Gibbs always leaves his front door unlocked. They exchange a few unpleasantries and end up so close they could lip lock. There is no doubt they throw off heat whenever they are in the same room together. This fade-out was smoldering.
Will they or won’t they. It’s sweeps month and we know from executive producer Shane Brennan surprises are in the offing.
I think I’ll stock up on popcorn.
-Jacky Jackman, BuddyTV Fan Columnist
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
